OWEN  Nox 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


. 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.    (See  page  115.) 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES 


FLORIDA, 


BY 

OWEN  NOX. 


BOSTON: 
A.     WILLIAMS     &     COMPANY. 

1881. 


COPYRIGHT, 

1831, 
BY  ALFRED  MVDGE  &  SON 


PREFACE. 


EVERY  book  should  have  a  preface ;  not  that  it 
adds  in  any  way  to  the  value  of  the  work,  but  it 
gives  it  an  air  of  respectability. 


o.  N. 


CONTEXTS. 


PAGE 

«2     CHAPTER        I.  — THE  START 11 

ui 

CHAPTER      II. —SAVANNAH 26 

2c      CHAPTER     III.  —  JACKSONVILLE 38 

or 

3      CHAPTER     IV.  —  JACKSONVILLE  (CONTINUED)     .     .  48 

CHAPTER       V.  —  JACKSONVILLE  (CONTINUED)    .  '  .  52 

M 

^       CHAPTER     VI.  —  JACKSONVILLE  (CONCLUDED)     .     .  61 

g      CHAPTER   VII.  — PILOT  TOWN 69 

CHAPTER  VIII. —UP  THE  ST.   JOHN'S 76 

CHAPTER     IX.— DEER  HUNTING 88 

CHAPTER       X.  —  LIFE  AT  ENTERPRISE 96 

!>      CHAPTER     XL— THE  STRANGER'S  STORY  .     ...  108 

• 

w      CHAPTER    XII. —  THE  WILDERNESS 120 

CHAPTER  XIII.  -  DEEP  CREEK 128 

<  - 

CHAPTER  XIV.  —  ST.  AUGUSTINE  138 


460005 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    START. 

IN  the  winter  of  1877  I  contracted  a  severe 
cold,  and  as  I  had  always  desired  to  go  South, 
persuaded  my- 
self that  I  was 
going  into  con- 
sumption and 
that  my  health 
required  me  to 
go  to  Florida. 
I  consulted  a 
number  of  doc- 
tors, and  they 
all  agreed  that 
it  would  un- 
doubtedly benefit  me  to  leave  Boston  for  a  while, 
but  none  of  them  seemed  to  think  a  trip  to 


12  SOUTHERN   KAMBLES. 

Florida  necessary;  some  of  them  even  spoke 
lightly  about  my  cold,  and  after  thumping  me  on 
the  chest  for  a  few  minutes  and  listening  for  the 
echo,J;old  me  that  my  lungs  were  as  strong  as  a 
horse's. 

Of  course  they  were  quacks,  and  did  not  know 
their  business;  so  I  put  no  trust  in  what  they 
said,  but  kept  on  visiting  doctor  after  doctor 
until  I  struck  one  at  last  who  seemed  to  under- 
stand my  case.  After  going  through  the  usual 
exercises,  he  asked  what  was  the  matter  with  me. 
I  told  him  I  thought  it  would  be  dangerous  for 
me  to  stay  in  a  cold  climate  all  winter,  and  had 
an  idea  that  a  trip  to  Florida  would  benefit  my 
health.  He  said  he  thought  it  would  be  the  best 
thing  I  could  do.  I  told  him  I  thought  I  should 
like  to  go  soon,  and  asked  him  if  it  would  not 
be  advisable  to  get  away  at  once.  He  replied 
emphatically  that  it  would,  and  closed  our  inter- 
view in  these  words:  "My  dear  sir,  although 
there  are  no  symptoms  of  actual  consumption, 
yet,  as  you  already  have  a  cold,  and  as  ?an 
ounce  of  prevention,'  etc.,  etc.,  there  can  be  no 


THE   START. 


13 


question  but  what  a  change  of  climate  could 
not  be  otherwise  than  beneficial.  Five  dollars, 
please !  Thanks.  Good  morning  ! " 

On  my  way  home  I   met  Jack .     Upon 

learning  of  my  intended  Southern  trip,  he  ex- 


pressed a  desire  to  accompany  me.  We  dined 
together,  and  before  we  parted  it  was  definitely 
arranged  to  leave  the  city  on  the  following 
Thursday. 

The  next  few  days  were  spent  in  buying  a  long 
list  of  things  which  Jack  said  we  should  need. 
We  purchased  all  the  books  we  could  find  which 
had  anything  to  say  about  Florida;  and  the  more 


14  SOUTHERN  KAMBLES. 

we  read,  the  more  anxious  we  became  to  visit  the 
wonderful  scenes  which  the  authors  described. 
All  of  them  agreed  in  one  thing,  if  they  differed 
in  everything  else :  the  climate  was  like  one 
eternal  spring.  Fruit  of  all  kinds  grew  every- 
where, and  was  so  plenty  that  the  inhabitants 
were  glad  to  have  visitors  walk  about  and  pick 
it  off  the  trees.  It  was  a  paradise  for  hunters; 
game  of  all  kinds  abounded,  and  the  fishing  was 
magnificent.  I  admired  those  books  before  I 
visited  Florida;  I  admired  them  more  afterwards. 
One  of  them  was  a  gorgeously  gotten-up  affair, 
in  paper  covers,  which  reeked  with  illustrations 
of  tropical  scenery.  Some  of  the  author's  de- 
scriptions fired  us  with  especial  admiration. 

Jack  always  carried  one  of  those  books  with 
him,  and  whenever  we  visited  one  of  the  places 
described,  he  pulled  it  out  of  his  pocket  and  read 
some  of  it.  I  got  so  at  last  that  I  dreaded  to 
visit  a  place  that  I  remembered  to  have  read 
about.  I  could  tell  when  it  was  coming.  Jack 
would  grow  restless,  and  say,  w  Let  me  read  you 
something  concerning  this  place,  —  it  is  interest- 


THE   START.  15 

ing";  and  then  he  would  drag  out  some  infernal 
maniac's  diary  and  commence.  He  never  com- 
mented on  what  he  read,  but  would  hunt  soberly 
,  for  the  page,  and  then  commence  and  read  it 
from  beginning  to  end  without  a  stop,  —  without 
a  smile,  —  always  the  same  drawling  intonation 
and  maudlin  expression,  until  the  last  word  was 
read ;  then  his  face  cleared,  and  a  load  seemed  to 
be  lifted  from  his  mind.  He  said  he  liked  to  get 
information  about  the  places  which  he  visited. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  English  language 
is  inadequate  to  convey  to  the  mind  a  correct 
idea  of  an  especially  beautiful  scene.  I  per- 
ceived this  to  be  a  fact;  for  the  ideas  which  we 
had  formed  of  places  after  reading  those  descrip- 
tions differed  somewhat  from  our  opinions  con- 
cerning them  upon  our  return  home. 

The  day  soon  arrived  when  we  were  to  start, 
and  nothing  unusual  transpired  in  consequence 
of  the  grand  event.  The  city  was  quiet  when 
we  left.  This  was  caused,  I  suppose,  by  our 
departure  being  somewhat  sudden,  and  its  not 
having  got  noised  abroad  that  we  intended  to 


16 


SOUTHERN"   RAMBLES. 


leave.  Jack  was  in  the  best  of  spirits  at  the 
thought  of  visiting  a  Southern  climate  and  en- 
joying some  of  the  splendid  shooting  he  had 
heard  so  much  about.  Our  cargo  of  implements 
and  ammunition  was  safely  housed  in  the  bag- 


gage car;  and  as  the  train  slowly  moved  out  of 
the  depot  into  the  darkness  of  the  night,  we  felt 
that  our  trip  had  fairly  commenced.  We  were 
still  in  a  civilized  country,  so  we  slept  well, 
and  upon  awakening  in  the  morning  found  our- 
selves in  New  York.  After  breakfasting  at  the 
"Union"  we  procured  a  team  and  drove  down 


THE    START.  17 

to  the  steamer  to  take  a  look  at  the  state-room 
which  was  to  be  our  quarters  until  the  steamer 
arrived  in  Savannah.  There  appeared  to  be  a 
delightful  uncertainty  as  to  the  time  of  her 
arrival  at  her  destination.  The  ticket  agent  had  „ 
said  three  days  at  the  longest.  I  have  always 
admired  that  man.  I  found  out  afterwards  that 
he  had  been  employed  by  that  line  for  years,  and 
knew  the  running  time  of  the  boats  by  heart; 
and  he  knew  that  the  old  tub  on  which  he  smil- 
ingly saw  us  take  passage  had  never  been  known 
to  go  anywhere  in  three  days  in  the  memory  of 
man.  Last  year,  while  they  were  taking  up  a 
subscription  in  aid  of  the  yellow-fever  suiferers, 
I  heard  that  this  man  was  detained  in  a  locality 
where  the  disease  was  raging.  I  then  withheld 
my  subscription ;  but  he  came  back  safe,  —  they 
always  do,  —  and  during  my  last  visit  to  New 
York  I  met  him.  He  was  as  smiling  as  ever, 
and  actually  had  the  audacity  to  ask  me  if  I  was 
not  going  South  again  soon.  I  did  not  tell  him 
that  the  only  thing  that  would  induce  me  to 
think  of  it  would  be  his  funeral  celebration.  But 


18  SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 

I  wander  from  the  subject.  The  captain  thought 
to  make  the  passage  in  three  days,  if  we  had 
good  weather.  He  had  hoped  to  do  that  same 
thing  for  years,  and  if  he  only  lives  long  enough 
he  may  do  it  yet ;  but  not  on  that  boat. 

We  were  to  have  sailed  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon;  but  it  was  midnight  before  we  cast 
oif  and  steamed  slowly  down  the  harbor.  It 
was  a  beautiful  night,  but  too  cold  to  remain  on 
deck,  so  I  sought  the  cabin  in  the  hopes  of  get- 
ting a  look  at  my  fellow-passengers.  A  number 
of  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  on  board,  and  the 
cabin  presented  quite  a  lively  appearance. 

Picking  out  a  philanthropic-looking  old  gen- 
tleman, I  found  a  seat  near  him,  and  after  having 
glanced  casually  at  the  other  passengers  for  a 
moment  or  two  to  give  him  a  chance  to  open  the 
conversation,  remarked,  — 

"  Fine  weather." 

He  dropped  his  chin,  and  looked  at  me  over 
his  spectacles. 

T  Yes.     Going  to  Savannah?  " 

I  intimated   that  I  was,  unless  the   steamer 


THE   START. 


19 


stopped  suddenly  on  the  way,  which  I  hoped 
would  not  be  the  case. 

ft  Fine  place,  Savannah ;  lived  there  off  and  on 
for  the  last  twelve  years.  Been  there  before?  " 

"No." 

"Family  on  board?" 


20  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

"No." 

"Live  in  New  York?" 

"No." 

"  Boston  man,  perhaps  ?  " 

^ 

Before  I  could  answer  him,  some  good  instinct 
prompted  the  steward  to  ask  if  a  valise  and 
shawl  which  were  lying  on  the  table  belonged 
to  him;  and  while  he  was  describing  the  person 
who  had  left  them  there,  I  managed  to  slip 
away  unobserved. 

In  the  smoking-room  I  found  Jack,  who  hailed 
me  with,  "  Well,  old  boy,  we  are  off  at  last " ;  and 
after  delivering  this  piece  of  valuable  informa- 
tion, settled  himself  in  his  chair,  looking  the  pic- 
ture of  contentment.  A  slight  rocking  motion 
was  perceptible,  as  by  this  time  we  were  getting 
pretty  well  out  to  sea.  Several  young  fellows 
on  the  other  side  of  the  room  apparently  felt  it 
too;  for  two  of  them  grew  slightly  pale,  and 
throwing  away  their  cigars,  remarked  that  it  was 
"  about  time  to  turn  in,"  an  attempt  at  sea  slang 
which,  coming  from  their  whitening  lips,  sounded 
almost  ghastly. 


THE   START.  21 

An  hour  later,  when  we  descended  to  the 
cabin,  we  found  it  deserted  save  a  sleepy  stew- 
ard, who  only  roused  himself  long  enough  to 
inquire  if  we  wanted  anything.  We  made  our 
way  to  our  state-room,  and  by  careful  balancing 
managed  to  undress.  Watching  my  chance,  I 
jumped  skilfully  into  the  berth,  taking  all  the 
skin  oif  my  knees  on  a  board  which  had  been 
placed  at  the  side  of  the  bed,  ostensibly  to  pre- 
vent the  occupant  from  rolling  out,  but  in  reality 
to  cause  untold  anguish  and  suffering  to  the 
unwary  passenger.  I  lay  there  gritting  my 
teeth,  for  I  would  not  have  had  Jack  know  it 
for  the  world;  but  my  feelings  were  somewhat 
soothed  a  few  minutes  later  by  seeing  him,  while 
trying  to  remove  his  under-garments,  loosen  his 
hold  on  a  hook  to  which  he  had  been  clinging, 
and  a  roll  of  the  vessel  caused  him  to  sit  down 
suddenly,  taking  the  stool  with  him.  The  upper 
berth  had  fallen  to  his  lot,  and  while  climbing 
into  it  another  lurch  assisted  him  with  a  sudden- 
ness which  was  probably  unexpected ;  for  a  dull 
sound  from  above,  followed  by  unintelligible 


22 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


mutterings,   convinced  me   that  he   was   either 
saying  his  prayers,  or  had  tried  to  butt  down 


"  CAUSED  HIM  TO  SIT  DOWN. 


THE   START.  23 

the  side  of  the  state-room,  and  was  thinking  it 
over. 

Life  on  board  a  steamer  is  necessarily  monoto- 
nous, and  during  the  passage  nothing  occurred 
worthy  of  mention.  Everything  went  along  as 
smoothly  as  possible  except  the  vessel,  whose 
progress  was  anything  but  smooth.  I  believe 
the  company  expects  three  fourths  of  the  pas- 
sengers to  average  one  meal  a  day,  and  are 
greatly  vexed  if  the  weather  happens  to  be  so 
fine  as  to  allow  those  passengers  who  are  un- 
used to  the  sea  to  take  their  meals  regularly. 
To  pass  away  the  time  the  u.sual  games  were 
indulged  in,  and  the  usual  ennui  was  felt  by 
everybody  except  Jack.  He  had  insisted  on 
taking  an  extra  w  sea  chair  "  along  with  him,  and 
I  now  perceived  his  reasons  for  so  doing. 
Almost  as  soon  as  we  were  fairly  under  way  he 
commenced  operations.  Jack's  modus  operandi 
were  as  follows:  He  generally  kept  his  chair 
and  the  extra  one  chained  together,  so  that  they 
could  not  be  used  by  any  one  without  his  permis- 
sion. After  breakfast  he  promenaded  the  deck, 


watching  the  other  passengers  as  they  straggled 
out  one  by  one,  their  pale  faces  showing  how 
much  they  were  enjoying  the  passage.  After 
eying  them  with  a  critical  glance,  he  would  pick 
out  the  prettiest  young  girl  he  could  see,  and 


then  walk  deliberately  up  to  her  and  offer  her 
his  chair.  Of  course  this  opened  a  chance  for 
conversation,  and  generally  ended  by  the  chair 
being  accepted,  and  the  acquaintance  of  the 
young  lady  formed.  If  she  happened  to  be 
accompanied  by  her  mamma,  he  would  offer  her 


THE   STABT.  25 

his  own  chair,  and  watch  his  chance  to  get 
hold  of  mine.  His  "brilliant  conversational 
powers,"  as  the  girls  have  it,  usually  charmed 
the  mammas,  and  after  that  the  way  was  clear. 
He  seemed  to  enjoy  himself  greatly,  and  became 
a  perfect  lion  among  the  ladies.  It  was  pleasing 
to  me,  too,  to  observe  the  peaceful  expression  of 
contentment  which  overspread  his  features  after 
he  had  told  some  more  than  usually  outrageous 
lie  and  saw  that  he  was  believed. 


CHAPTER  H. 

/ 

SAVANNAH. 

morning  when  I  went  on  deck,  I  found 
that  we  had  crossed  the  bar  and  were  slowly 
steaming  up  the  beautiful  Savannah  River ;  for 
it  is  a  beautiful  river.  Its  clear  water  resembles 
coffee  as  much  as  anything  else;  perhaps  it 
would  be  better  to  say  that  it  resembles  a  weak 
solution  of  very  poor  coffee.  On  either  side,  the 
river  was  bounded  by  a  thick  growth  of  reeds, 
and  the  only  redeeming  feature  were  the  numer- 
ous flock  of  birds,  which  ever  and  anon  rose 
and  fluttered  about  for  a  moment,  filling  the  air 
with  their  fresh  and  varied  melody.  (Patent 
applied  for.) 

As  we  neared  the  city  we  passed  numbers  of 
small  boats  containing  negroes,  evidently  in  pur- 
suit of  the  ducks  and  other  water  birds  which 
were  constantly  flying  about.  All  the  passen- 


SAVANNAH.  27 

gers  were  assembled  on  the  forward  deck,  enjoy- 
ing the  view  and  their  first  experience  of  a 
Southern  climate.  It  was  a  beautiful  warm  day 
even  for  Savannah,  and  the  whole  company  was 
in  high  spirits. 

After  we  had  landed  and  got  comfortably 
settled,  in  a  really  good  hotel,  Jack  and  I  started 
out  for  a  walk.  Our  first  impression  of  the  city 
was  not  as  favorable  as  I  could  have  wished. 
Everybody  we  met  appeared  to  have  a  resigned 
look  of  contentment.  The  city  was  as  quiet  as 
one  of  our  !N~ew  England  towns  on  Sunday. 
After  walking  for  some  time,  and  not  seeing  any- 
thing worth  seeing,  we  perceived  a  female  figure 
coming  up  the  street  on  the  opposite  side.  Jack 
crossed  over  and  sauntered  along  with  his  hands 
in  pockets  until  she  had  passed.  Then  he  re- 
crossed  the  street  to  where  I  was  standing,  and 
as  he  came  up  I  perceived  a  look  of  disgust  on 
his  features  which  was  not  there  when  he  had 
left  me. 

I  ventured  to  inquire  if  she  was  pretty. 
Apparently  he  thought  this  was  adding  insult 


28 


SOUTHERN"   KAMBLES. 


to  injury,  for  he  looked  me  straight  in  the  eyes 
for  a  moment,  and  then  fired  out  his  words  as 


SAVANNAH.  29 

though  a  steel  spring  was  concealed  in  his 
throat : — 

"Pretty!  forty  years  old,  and  cross-eyed. 
Thunder  and  lightning!  talk  to  me  about  your 
Southern  beauties." 

"I  am  sorry  that  your  first  experience  has 
been  so  unsatisfactory;  but  still  it  was  an 
episode —  " 

f  ?  Episode ' !  Nonsense !  Hyena  '  is  what  you 
are  trying  to  think  of;  but  I  forgot  you  did  n't 
see  it  as  close  as  I  did." 

He  was  evidently  disturbed,  and  it  was  not 
until  we  had  returned  to  the  hotel  and  had 
become  interested  in  a  game  of  billiards  that 
his  face  cleared,  and  he  resumed  his  usual  ex- 
pression of  imbecility. 

One  day  in  Savannah  was  all  that  we  could 
stand,  and  it  was  hard  work  to  do  even  that. 
It  was  pleasant  enough  to  feel  yourself  once 
more  on  dry  ground;  but  we  had  experienced 
that  novelty  before,  and  wanted  something  be- 
sides earth  to  amuse  us.  There  is  plenty  to 
amuse  a  stranger  in  Savannah,  if  he  goes  around 


30  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

quietly  and  does  not  try  to  do  everything  in  a 
hurry.  A  person  may  find  amusement  any- 
where, if  he  only  looks  for  it;  and  people  differ 
in  their  tastes.  It  is  a  fine  place  for  consump- 
tives. If  they  do  not  recover  in  a  few  months, 
their  mind  has  become  calm;  they  do  not  dread 
death. 

After  dinner  we  held  a  consultation,  and  de- 
cided to  start  for  Jacksonville  that  afternoon. 
Accordingly,  we  procured  our  tickets,  and  shortly 
after  were  arranging  ourselves  as  comfortably  as 
possible  for  the  all-night  ride  before  us.  "We  had 
engaged  seats  in  the  only  drawing-room  car  con- 
nected with  the  train,  and  it  looked  as  though 
we  were  going  to  have  a  pleasant  trip  of  it. 
Almost  immediately  after  the  train  started,  the 
car  in  which  we  were  seated  bounced  around  so 
that  it  was  impossible  to  read  without  injury  to 
the  eyes ;  so  after  one  or  two  attempts  we  gave 
it  up,  and  fishing  out  a  pack  of  cards  from  one 
of  the  bags,  we  repaired  to  the  rear  of  the  car, 
and  bribed  the  conductor  to  bring  us  a  substi- 
tute for  a  table  in  the  shape  of  a  piece  of  board, 


SAVANNAH. 


31 


which  we  rested  on  our  knees.  The  motion 
caused  the  cards  to  slip  around  and  mix  them- 
selves up  in  the  most  aggravating  manner,  so 
that  a  very  few  minutes  convinced  us  that  the 
work  was  greater  than  the  amusement. 

Jack  was  sleepy,  and  arranged  himself  com- 
fortably for  a  doze, 
while  I  commenced 
reading  again;  but  I 
soon  gave  that  up  for 
the  greater  amusement 
of  watching  Jack's  ac- 
tions. He  had  leaned 
his  head  on  his  hand, 
with  his  elbow  rest- 
ing on  the  sill  of  the 
window,  and  was  no 
doubt  quite  comfort- 
able for  a  few  min- 
utes ;  but  soon  the  mo- 
tion of  the  car  caused 
the  sharp  edge  of  the  sill  to  cut  into  his  arm, 
and  he  changed  his  position,  but  did  not  im- 


32  SOUTHERN"  RAMBLES. 

prove  it.  The  sill  was  wide,  and  so  to  rest  his 
head  against  the  glass  caused  his  neck  to  assume 
a  position  at  right  angles  with  his  body.  In  a 
few  moments  this  position  evidently  became  irk- 
some, for  he  again  changed  it.  This  time  he 
muttered  something  to  himself,  and  sitting  bolt 
upright  rested  his  head  upon  the  back  of  the 
seat.  The  jarring  of  the  car  soon  caused  the 
screw-heads  on  the  top  to  bore  themselves  into 
the  base  of  his  skull  in  a  manner  not  conducive 
to  comfort.  After  this  he  gave  it  up  in  disgust, 
but  cheered  up  somewhat  when  the  conductor 
passed  through  the  cars  and  announced  that  we 
stopped  for  supper  at  the  next  station. 

When  the  train  stopped  we  left  the  car  and 
walked  across  a  platform  to  the  hotel,  where  we 
were  greeted  by  a  woman  who  was  standing  on 
the  porch  with  a  vigorous  salute  from  a  bell 
which  she  held  in  her  hand,  and  which  had  evi- 
dently been  used  as  a  cow-bell  previous  to  the 
establishment  of  the  "  hotel."  Entering  a  large 
room  we  seated  ourselves,  together  with  a  num- 
ber of  our  fellow-passengers,  around  a  smal' 


SAVAJSXAH.  33 

table,  and  a  voluptuous  female  of  uncertain  age 
demanded  if  we  would  have  coffee  or  tea.  We 
took  coffee;  and  right  here  let  me  warn  all 
future  generations  against  ordering  coffee  on 
that  road.  Coffee  is  good  in  its  way ;  but  the 
flavor  of  last  year's  beans  does  not  improve  it. 
I  was  glad  I  tried  it,  for  otherwise  I  might  have 
visited  that  place  in  future  years,  when  I  might 
have  been  in  poor  health,  and  I  shudder  to  think 
of  the  consequences. 

They  gave  us  eggs  and  some  slabs  of  meat. 
There  was  some  yellow  stuff  in  a  dish,  which  I 
observed  several  of  the  passengers  putting  on 
their  bread.  I  could  not  imagine  what  it  was, 
and  asked  the  v.  f.  of  u.  a.  to  name  it.  She 
cast  on  me  a  glance  expressive  of  pity  and  con- 
tempt, and  explained  that  it  was  w  butter." 

Jack  tried  it  once  (once  is  not  often),  and  after 
looking  at  it  for  some  time  in  silence  and  thought, 
remarked  that  some  instinct  told  him  that  the 
person  who  prepared  it  was  a  woman  of  ad- 
vanced years.  I  did  not  ask  him  to  explain,  and 
he  maintained  a  mysterious  silence  on  the  sub- 


34 


SOUTHERN"   RAMBLES. 


ject  afterwards.     The  cravings  of  hunger  being 
satisfied,  we  repaired  to  the  platform  and  walked 


SAVANNAH.  35 

about  until  the  conductor  came  to  us  and  told  us 
that  the  train  was  about  to  start.  He  then 
hunted  up  the  engineer,  and  as  that  worthy 
entered  the  engine  coop  we  climbed  into  the  car 
and  made  our  way  to  our  seats. 

Soon  after,  being  somewhat  sleepy,  we  ordered 
the  porter  to  make  up  our  berths,  and  undressing 
ourselves  we  retired.  I  fondly  believed  that  my 
troubles  for  that  night  were  finished,  but  I  was 
mistaken.  Lying  upon  my  side,  I  tried  to  sleep, 
but  as  my  head  resting  on  the  pillow  did  not 
move  much,  and  as  my  body  resting  on  the  hard 
bed  did  move  a  great  deal,  the  position  soon  be- 
came irksome.  The  human  neck  is  a  gigantic 
failure  as  a  substitute  for  a  hinge. 

During  some  of  the  sudden  jumps  which  the 
car  took,  I  flew  up  and  caressed  the  upper  berth, 
and  by  the  natural  laws  of  gravity  my  return  to 
the  bed  was  more  forcible  than  pleasant.  Still  I 
came  to  enjoy  a  Southern  country,  and  I  was 
enjoying  it  to  my  heart's  content.  A  minister  in 
the  berth  opposite  me  was  evidently  enjoying  it 
too.  I  knew  he  was  a  minister,  for  he  was 


36  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

saying  his  prayers.  He  usually  finished  every 
sentence  with  the  name  of  his  Creator.  During 
one  of  the  sudden  jumps  he  got  as  far  as  "Oh," 
as  he  soared  upward,  and  the  word  w  God  "  was 
jerked  out  of  him  as  he  returned  to  his  berth  in 
a  most  awful  and  blasphemous  manner. 

I  must  have  dropped  asleep  soon  after  this, 
for  I  dreamed  that  I  was  rolling  down  the  side 
of  a  mountain,  and  kept  rolling,  rolling,  until  I 
became  insensible.  I  was  awakened  at  daylight 
from  an  uneasy  sleep  by  the  jolting  of  the  car, 
and  dressing  myself,  repaired  to  the  back  plat- 
form. There  I  found  Jack  and  the  minister. 
Jack  was  smoking  a  cigar  in  a  gloomy  manner, 
and  seemed  displeased  at  something;  and  upon 
my  asking  him  if  he  had  passed  a  good  night, 
he  merely  snorted,  and  kept  on  puffing  away  in 
silence. 

It  Vas  early  morning,  and  the  dew  had  not 
yet  dried  on  the  leaves.  The  woods  on  either 
side  of  us  glistened  and  sparkled  as  if  covered 
with  precious  gems.  We  were  passing  through 
a  vast  forest  of  pines,  and  from  the  branches  of 


SAVANNAH.  37 

the  giant  trees  hung  great  quantities  of  Spanish 
moss,  giving  the  woods  a  very  picturesque 
appearance.  Every  few  minutes  we  passed 
along  the  borders  of  small  ponds,  frightening 
ducks  and  herons  from  their  hiding-places  with 
the  rush  and  roar  of  the  train  *  as  we  whirled  by 
them.  The  morning  air  was  fresh  and  cool, 
and  we  enjoyed  the  view  until  we  entered  Jack- 
sonville at  a  little  after  nine  o'clock,  strange  to 
say  only  one  hour  and  a  half  behind  time. 

*  The  above  sentence  is  good.  Any  one  who  has  travelled  on 
Southern  railroads  will  appreciate  it.  "  Bush  and  roar  of  the 
train"  is  exceptionally  fine. 


460005 


CHAPTER    in. 

JACKSONVILLE. 

JACKSONVILLE,  city  of  eternal  summer,  how 
we  had  longed  to  see  it;  how  we  had  longed 
to  bask  in  its  shady  groves,  and  breathe  its 
pure  air !  Visions  of  sparkling  springs  gurgling 
through  the  fresh,  sweet-scented  verdure,  over- 
hung by  swaying  palmettos,  had  haunted  our 
thoughts  ever  since  we  had  left  the  North.  In 
our  dreams  we  had  fancied  ourselves  reclining 
beneath  the  shade  of  some  sweet-scented  orange- 
tree,  eating  the  ripe  fruit  which  hung  about  us 
gleaming  like  gold  in  the  splendor  of  a  Southern 
twilight,  while  birds  of  many  kinds  and  bright 
plumage  flitted  around  us,  filling  the  air  with 
their  fresh  and  varied  melody.  I  say  we  had 
dreamed  all  this,  and  I  do  not  regret  it.  It  is 
sweet  to  dream. 

Entering  a  stage-coach,  we  were  driven  to  the 


JACKSONVILLE.  39 

St.  James  Hotel,  and  after  half  an  hour's  hard 
work,  with  the  aid  of  quantities  of  soap  and 
water,  we  nearly  regained  our  natural  color,  and 
donning  some  clean  clothes  descended  to  the 
dining-room,  and  had  a  really  good  breakfast. 

Jack  became  quite  cheerful,  and  kept  up  a 
running  fire  of  conversation  with  an  elderly 
party  who  sat  opposite. 

Just  as  we  were  about  to  leave  the  dining- 
room  the  door  opened,  and  in  swept  a  young 
girl,  who  was,  as  Jack  afterwards  remarked,  "  a 
tearing  beauty,  and  knocked  him  all  in  a  heap." 
She  sat  down  at  our  table,  and  then  commenced 
operations  to  arrange  her  clothes  in  a  position  to 
suit  her.  First  she  sat  down  and  gave  her  dress 
a  pat  on  one  side,  — to  be  sure  it  was  still  there, 
I  suppose,  —  but  almost  immediately  rose  again 
and  settled  herself  in  a  different  manner. 
This  time  she  seemed  to  have  hit  it,  for  she 
smiled  sweetly  to  herself,  and  after  fidgeting 
around  for  a  moment  or  two  became  quiet  at 
last,  and  stared  squarely  at  me  across  the  table. 
Being  a  modest  man,  I  dropped  my  eyes.  She 


40  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

then  transferred  her  attentions  to  Jack,  who  had 


A  MODEST  MAW. 

been    looking    at    her  fixedly   ever    since    she 


JACKSOISTVILLE.  41 

entered  the  room,  his  eyes  having  something  of 
the  expression  of  an  animated  corpse.  After 
having  viewed  him  to  her  satisfaction,  she  turned 
her  attention  to  the  waiter  and  languidly  ordered 
him  to  bring  an  orange,  and  she  would  think 
what  she  would  eat  in  the  mean  while.  As  I  was 
not  at  all  anxious  to  see  her  devour  an  orange, 
and  as  I  was  anxious  to  smoke  a  cigar,  I  left  the 
table  and  the  room.  Jack  followed  me  slowly, 
and  when  we  had  reached  the  office  said  solemnly, 
"In  my  younger  days  I  used  to  amuse  myself  by 
staring  our  old  cat  into  fits.  I  could  frighten  a 
baby  into  convulsions  in  less  than  a  minute  ;  but 
I  will  bet  my  chance  of  wings  hereafter  that  if 
that  girl  fixed  her  eyes  on  an  Egyptian  mummy, 
the  mummy  would  have  to  cave  in." 

We  strolled  past  the  garden  in  front  of  the 
hotel  and  continued  on  until  we  reached  Bay 
Street,  which  presented  quite  an  attractive 
appearance.  It  is  broad  and  smooth,  and  is 
lined  on  both  sides  by  large,  handsome  stores. 
A  number  of  these  stores  are  devoted  to  curios- 
ities, which  meet  a  ready  sale  to  tourists  who 


42  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

desire  to  carry  home  some  little  present  to  a 
friend,  or  as  a  memento  of  the  place,  and  gener- 
ally prefer  curiosities  to  anything  else.  Alliga- 
tors' teeth,  stuffed  birds,  snakes,  feather  fans, 
sea  beans,  —  anything,  in  fact,  in  the  shape  of 
a  local  curiosity  is  always  in  demand.  The 
dealers  charge  exorbitant  prices  for  these  arti- 
cles, and  get  them,  too. 

Jack  stopped  in  front  of  a  large,  imposing- 
looking  store,  the  windows  of  which  were  filled 
with  curiosities  of  every  description,  and  wanted 
to  go  in.  So  in  we  went,  and  Jack  with  his 
usual  bashfulness  stalked  up  to  a  gentleman 
behind  the  counter  and  remarked  that  we  did 
not  wish  to  buy  anything,  and  that  we  only  came 
in  to  look  around.  The  proprietor  was  very 
affable,  and  told  us  to  make  ourselves  at  home. 
There  were  quantities  of  curious  specimens  of 
natural  history  and  art,  and  I  should  have 
enjoyed  myself  hugely  rummaging  about  had  it 
not  been  for  Jack,  who  amused  himself  by 
tickling  the  monkeys,  stirring  up  the  snakes, 
or  picking  up  the  little  alligators  and  examining 


JACKSONVILLE. 


43 


them  gravely  when  some  nervous  elderly  lady 
happened  to  be  near  him. 


Jack  bought  an  alligator,  and  so  did  I.  Mine 
lived  for  some  time ;  but  Jack's  met  with  a  most 
untimely  end.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  taking 
the  little  fellow  out  of  his  pocket  by  mistake, 
when  feeling  for  his  gloves  or  handkerchief 
(when  ladies  were  about) ;  but  one  day  he 
forgot  to  "take  it  out  by  mistake,"  when  he 


44  SOUTHERN"   RAMBLES. 

happened  to  be  lying  out  on  the  grass,  and  the 
poor  little  chap  was  crushed  to  death.  Jack 
mourned  for  him  long.  He  said  he  missed  the 
friendly  squirm  which  it  gave  whenever  he  put 
his  hand  in  his  pocket. 

When  we  returned  to  the  hotel,  most  of  the 
people  were  at  supper;  and  as  we  took  our  seats 
at  the  table,  I  observed  a  short,  sharp-featured 
man  sitting  opposite  me,  who  had  evidently  just 
arrived. 

At  the  time  of  our  entrance,  a  gentleman  at 
the  head  of  the  table  was  talking  to  a  friend  of 
his,  who  was  seated  next  the  new  arrival,  about 
the  "Wlnsor  Hotel  in  Montreal,  and  stated  that 
some  Americans  who  were  there  wrote  their 
names  on  the  walls.  At  this  the  new  arrival 
fired  up,  and  remarked, — 

"  See  here,  stranger !  do  you  mean  to  tell  me 
that  Americans  marked  up  the  walls  more  than 
you  blarsted  Englishmen?" 

The  gentleman  remarked  that  there  were  peo- 
ple of  every  nation  who  sometimes  did  thought- 
less actions  without  meaning  to  do  any  harm. 


JACKSONVILLE. 


w  But  you  said  Americans." 
"  They  certainly  were  Americans." 
:f  Well,  that  yanks  the  bun ;  that  does  take  the 
cake.  See  here,  young  feller!  I'm  an  American. 
My  name 's  Brown,  —  John  F.  Brown ;  soap-fat 
man;  north  side  Chicago.  Everybody  knows 
me  there,  —  me  and  Mr.  Blank.  You  must  have 
heard  of  him.  He 's  a  flower,  he  is.  He  owns 
fighting  dogs  and  fighting  cats  and  cocks,  and 
has  fast  horses  and  a  nice  little  girl.  That 's  the 
kind  of  a  man  he  is,  and  I'm  his  friend;  and 
that's  the  kind  of  a  hairpin  I  am.  You  swell 


46  SOUTHERN"  RAMBLES. 

Canada  chaps  think  you  can  come  down  here 
and  blow  about  your  hotels ;  but  it  won't  go 
down  with  me.  Why,  I've  been  all  over  your 
country,  and  never  saw  a  ranche  worth  marking 
on  yet." 

The  gentleman  left  the  table,  and  Brown  be- 
came quiet;  but  in  a  few  minutes  he  fired  up 
again,  and  looking  at  Jack,  remarked,  — 

*  When  I  hear  a  man  talk  that  way, me, 

it  makes  me  mad  enough  to  eat  a  couple  of 
eggs." 

We  saw  that  he  was  hunting  for  a  new  victim; 
so  as  we  had  finished  our  supper,  we  rose  and 
left  the  table  in  dignified  silence. 

After  half  an  hour's  stroll,  we  returned  to 
the  hotel,  and  passed  the  evening  playing  bill- 
iards, so  we  saw  no  more  of  Brown  that  night; 
but  early  the  next  morning  we  observed  him 
talking  loudly  to  the  clerk.  As  we  passed,  he 
was  saying, — 

w  I  should  like  to  know  what  kind  of  a  hospi- 
tal you  call  this,  anyhow.  That  galoot  in  the 
next  room  was  swapping  coughs  with  the  girl 


JACKSONVILLE.  47 

over    opposite,    and    between   'em    they   raised 
the  —  » 

We  passed  on,  and  the  rest  of  the  speech  was 
lost.  I  missed  him  at  dinner,  and  on  asking  the 
clerk  where  he  was,  was  informed  that  he  had 
left  for  St.  Augustine  on  the  morning  boat  to 
wake  up  the  people  there;  "and,"  said  the  clerk, 
"  he  can  do  it." 


CHAPTEK   IV. 

LIFE  in  Jacksonville  is  easy  and  pleasant. 
Occasionally,  during  the  winter,  the  mercury 
drops  to  30°  during  the  early  hours  of  the 
morning,  and  then  the  visitors  don  innumerable 
under-flannels,  and  howl  about  the  lovely  South- 
ern climate  to  keep  up  appearances.  Every 
warm  day  that  comes  along,  they  hang  their 
thermometers  up  in  the  most  sunny  place  they 
can  find,  and  sit  down  to  write  to  their  friends 
in  the  North. 

'Happening  to  enter  the  reading-room  one 
morning,  I  observed  an  unfinished  letter  lying 
upon  the  table,  which  had  evidently  been  dis- 
carded on  account  of  an  immense  blot  which 
obscured  the  picture  of  the  hotel  which  embel- 
lished the  corner  of  the  paper.  It  ran  as  fol- 
lows :  — 


JACKSONTILLE.  49 

"JACKSONVILLE,  FLORIDA,  Jan.  7,  1878. 
"  DEAREST  NELLIE  : 

"  I  am  sure  you  ought  to  feel  highly  flattered  at  receiving 
another  letter  from  me  so  soon  ;  but  I  have  been  having  such 
a  perfectly  splendid  time  lately  that  I  wanted  to  tell  you  all 
alDout  it.  It  is  very  warm  to-day.  I  am  sitting  by  the  open  * 
window  as  I  write,  enjoying  the  breeze,  scented  with  the 
fragrance  of  the  orange  groves.  Don't  it  seem  funn}r  that  I 
should  be  sitting  here  writing  to  you,  with  the  thermometer 
at  80°,  while  you  are  —  " 

It  broke  off  abruptly  here.  She  was  undoubt- 
edly a  new  arrival.  An  old  hand  would  have 
gone  down  to  the  reading-room,  nestled  up  to 
the  stove,  and  written,  "  It  is  too  warm  to  write, 
and  really  this  languid  climate  seems,"  etc.,  etc. 
They  all  do  it  in  one  way  or  another  when 
writing  to  friends  at  home  who  have  not  enjoyed 
the  luxury  of  a  Southern  climate.  Some  of  them 
crowd  the  temperature  up  a  little ;  but  then,  what 
is  the  use  of  being  mean  about  a  few  degrees? 

Jack  wrote  a  letter  home  about  a  week  after 
our  arrival,  and  I  happened  to  enter  the  room 
just  as  he  commenced  operations.  He  had  evi- 
dently been  taking  some  violent  exercise,  for  the 


50 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


perspiration  stood  out  on  his  brow  in  beads. 
The  window  was  raised  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  (to  ease  his  conscience,  I  suppose) ,  a  heavy 
shawl  was  thrown  over  his  shoulders,  and  he 
was  writing  as  if  for  a  wager.  To  crown  the 
whole,  he  had  hung  his  thermometer  up  on  the 
wall,  with  the  bulb  about  half  an  inch  from 
the  table,  and  every  few  minutes  he  would  take 
the  cigar  from  between  his  lips  and  rest  it 
on  the  table  under  the  bulb.  Whenever  he  did 
this,  the  registered  temperature  was  something 
frightful. 


HOME. 


JACKSONVILLE.  51 

I  asked  no  questions,  and  he  made  no  re- 
marks; but  he  wore  a  satisfied  smile  as  he 
mailed  the  result  of  his  labors  when  we  went 
down-stairs  to  dinner;  and  I  could  not  help 
thinking  that  if  the  orthodox  belief  is  true, 
and  all  a  man's  lies  are  recorded  in  heaven, 
the  angel  who  has  the  contract  for  Jack  must 
soon  become  a  drivelling  idiot,  or  take  a  partner. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

A  WINTER  may  be  passed  very  pleasantly  in 
Jacksonville.  One  makes  pleasant  acquaint- 
ances; visits  numberless  places,  many  of  them 
worth  seeing  and  many  of  them  not  worth  going 
across  the  street  to  see ;  possibly  the  latter  pre- 
dominate. 

Jack  and  I  enjoyed  ourselves:  the  tranquil, 
easy  life  suited  us,  especially  Jack.  The  more 
lazy  the  life,  the  better  he  was  suited.  We 
passed  our  time  riding,  boating,  and  sleeping. 
After  dinner  we  sometimes  adjourned  to  the 
parlor  and  sung  awhile.  "We  sung  duets  occa- 
sionally, but  not  often,  as  it  drew  a  crowd.  I 
was  once  highly  complimented  on  my  singing. 
It  happened  in  this  wise:  In  the  middle  of  a 
song  a  gentleman  called  who  wanted  to  borrow 
some  money  of  me.  He  listened  attentively 


JACKSONVILLE.  53 

until  I  had  finished,  and  then  sighed,  "I  could 
listen  to  you  forever."  I  lent  him  the  money. 
As  a  rule,  people  listened  to  my  singing  in 
enraptured  silence  and  then  went  away.  Some- 
times the  proprietor  would  hurry  in  and  ask  me 
to  stop  singing,  as  there  was  a  sick  child  on  that 
floor.  After  a  while  I  noticed  that  he  generally 
asked  me  to  desist,  and  advanced  the  sick-child 
theory,  whenever  there  happened  to  be  some  new 
arrivals  looking  about  the  hotel  to  see  if  they 
liked  it  well  enough  to  stay;  and  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  wished  to  impress  them  favor- 
ably by  showing  his  tender-heartedness  and 
solicitude  for  sick  children.  I  did  not  like  him 
as  well  after  that.  I  do  not  like  to  see  a  man 
assume  a  virtue  to  increase  his  business. 

"We  made  many  friends  among  the  guests 
of  the  hotel,  and  were  constantly  making  new 
acquaintances.  One  morning  as  I  entered  the 
dining-room  I  observed  a  gentleman  and  lady, 
whom  I  had  not  seen  before,  sitting  at  our  table. 
He  occupied  the  seat  next  to  me,  and  we  very 
naturally  conversed  together  while  eating  our 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


breakfast.     After  leaving  the  table,  I  lit  a  cigar 
and  strolled  up  and  down  the^piazza,  where  in  a 


1  LOOK    AT  THAT  CHILD." 


JACKSONVILLE.  55 

few  moments  he  joined  me,  and  we  were  chatting1 
pleasantly  together  when  I  observed  a  nurse, 
leading  two  children,  who  was  evidently  just 
starting  out  for  a  walk. 

I  said,  "  For  heaven's  sake,  look  at  that  bow- 
legged  child!  Why,  his  legs  are  like  barrel 
hoops.  Whose  is  it,  —  do  you  know?  " 

w  He  is  mine." 

w  Oh !  I  mean  the  other  one." 

f?  They  are  both  mine." 

I  said  something  idiotic  and  tried  to  change 
the  subject;  but  the  conversation  flagged,  and  in 
a  few  moments  he  excused  himself  and  left  me- 
Whenever  we  met  afterwards  he  treated  me  with 
studied  courtesy,  but  there  was  a  coldness  in  his 
manner  which  I  could  not  account  for. 

In  and  about  the  city  there  are  a  great  many 
pleasant  drives,  and  good  horses  and  carriages 
may  be  hired  at  reasonable  prices  if  you  make  a 
bargain  beforehand.  Jack  and  I  strolled  over 
to  a  stable  one  afternoon  and  inquired  the  price 
of  a  carriage  for  the  afternoon.  The  man  named 
a  pricq,  but  Jack  interrupted  him  and  said  we 


56  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

did  not  wish  to  buy  the  team,  we  merely  wished 


^ 


DON'T  OWN  A  GLUE  FACTORY. 

to  hire  it  for  a  drive.     It  was  lost  011  the  native, 


JACKSONVILLE.  57 

—  sarcasm  has  no  more  effect  upon  them  than 
prayer.  We  did  not  engage  a  team  then;  but 
the  next  day  I  sent  a  boy  over  to  the  stable  to 
get  us  a  good  horse  and  buggy.  Tn  about  half 
an  hour  he  returned,  seated  in  a  buggy  drawn 
by  an  emaciated  wreck  of  a  horse,  whose  sides 
looked  as  though  they  had  been  passed  through 
a  fluting  iron. 

* 

Jack  said,  "Did  you  tell  him  we  wanted  a 
good  horse?  " 

'  Yes,  sah,  he  said  this  was  just  the  horse  to 
suit  you." 

?  "Well,  you  go  back  and  tell  him  that  he  has 
made  a  mistake  in  the  parties  ;  we  are  not  the 
proprietors  of  a  glue  factory." 

"Sah?" 

"Shut  up!" 

Jack  was  evidently  annoyed,  so  to  save  trouble 
I  climbed  into  the  team,  where  he  followed  me  and 
took  the  reins.  We  woke  up  the  wreck,  and 
after  dusting  him  with  the  but  of  the  whip  for 
a  few  moments,  induced  him  to  jog  along  at  a 
reasonable  rate.  Poor  fellow,  he  was  so  thin 


58  SOUTHERN"  KAMBLES. 

that  his  backbone  rattled  at  every  step;  but  we 


enjoyed  the  ride  and  the  exercise. 


JACKSONVILLE. 


59 


Among  the  places  in  Jacksonville  well  worth  a 
visit  are  the  tobacco  factories,  where  a  large  num- 
ber of  negroes  are  employed  in  manufacturing 
cigars.  Their  singing  is  well  worth  hearing.  We 
hired  a  number  of  them  to  come  and  sing  to  us  in 
the  evening,  while  we  sat  upon  the  porch  of  the 
hotel.  I  shall  never  forget  the  evening.  It  was 
a  bright  moonlight  night,  and  we  had  been  listen- 
ing to  their  rich  voices  blended  together  in  the 
simple  harmony  of  the  negro  melodies.  For  five 
minutes  every  one  had  maintained  a  perfect 
silence.  No  one  wished  to  speak.  All  nature 
seemed  at  rest,  and  the  peaceful  stillness  seemed 


HOME,  SWEET  HOME. 


60  SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 

harshly  broken  by  the  sound  of  the  human  voice. 
Suddenly  one  of  the  negro  tenors  commenced 
singing  "  Home,  sweet  home,"  while  the  others 
hummed  an  accompaniment.  When  it  ceased  and 
died  away,  more  than  one  young  girl  slyly  wiped 
away  a  tear  which  they  should  not  have  been 
ashamed  of;  our  hearts  yearned  for  our  loved 
ones  at  home,  whom  we  were  not  to  see,  perhaps, 
for  months  to  come. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

EVERY  day  we  heard  people  talking  about 
the  wonderful  shooting  which  they  had  had  in 
such  and  such  places.  Their  stories  were  so 
large  that  before  I  visited  the  wonderful  spots, 
I  thought  they  were  stretching  the  truth  a  lit- 
tle. Afterwards,  my  impression  remained  un- 
changed; but  I  was  told  that  the  year  I  was 
there,  game  was  scarcer  than  any  in  the  remem- 
brance of  the  oldest  inhabitant.  This  may  have 
been  so;  at  least,  as  I  had  no  way  of  disproving 
their  statements,  I  gave  -them  the  benefit  of  the 
ponderous  doubt. 

Standing  on  the  wharf  one  day,  I  saw  a  poor, 
broken-down  old  man,  whose  white  hair  and  tot- 
tering steps  gave  evidence  of  extreme  old  age. 
As  he  passed  me,  I  observed  that  he  was  fear- 
fully cross-eyed.  His  otherwise  fine  features 
wore  an  expression  of  peaceful  resignation,  as 


62 


SOUTHERN"  RAMBLES. 


of  one  who  had  lived  a  good  and  true  life,  and 

was  ready  to  die,  when 
his  time  came,  with 
perfect  trust  in  his 
Creator. 

An   old    pilot,   with 
whom  I  had  been  con- 
versing    a     few     mo- 
ments before,   touched 
me    on    the    shoulder, 
and  said,  — 
"Do  you  see  that  white-haired  old  party?" 
"I  do." 

"  Kinder  cross-eyed." 
"  I  noticed  that  he  was." 
"  Know  who  he  is  ?  " 
"No." 

?  Well,  ten  years  ago  he  was  one  of  the  smart- 
est pilots  in  the  place ;  but  he  had  one  bad  habit, 
and  that  was  lying.  We  all  tried  to  break  him 
of  it;  but  it  was  no  use.  Why,  he  used  to  com- 
mence light  in  the  morning,  and  we  did  n't  mind 
it  much,  —  sorter  white  lies,  you  know  ;  but 


JACKSONVILLE. 


63 


as  the  day  wore  on,  he  grew  worse  and  worse, 
until  towards  night,  if  he  happened  to  meet  you 
alone,  he  would  thunder  out  double-jointed  lies 
eight  or  nine  feet  long  without  a  break.  But  to 
get  back  to  my  story.  One  morning  Sam,  or 


KNOW  WHO  HB  is? 


'Salt,'  as  we  used  to  call  him,  happened  to  be 
standing  on  the  wharf,  smoking  his  pipe  before 
breakfast,  and  waiting  for  the  steamer  to  get  in. 
As  the  passengers  landed,  a  young  fellow  fresh 
from  New  York  stepped  up  to  him,  and  asked 
him  some  questions  about  the  place.  'Salt'  took 


64  SOUTHERN"  RAMBLES. 

his  measure,  and  opened  light  on  him  at  first,  to 
see  what  he  was  made  of;  but  as  the  young 
chap  seemed  to  swallow  everything,  he  wanned 
up  to  his  work,  and  in  a  few  minutes  forgot 
himself,  and  exploded  an  awful,  compound  even- 
ing lie  on  an  empty  stomach.  He  got  about 
half  through  with  it,  when  he  was  taken  with 
cramps,  and  tied  himself  into  two  or  three  kinds 
of  knots.  He  suffered  awfully  for  nearly  three 
weeks,  and  although  the  doctors  pulled  him 
through,  they  could  n't  get  his  eyes  straight.  His 
overstrained  system  has  never  entirely  recovered, 
and  now  he  is  a  broken-down  old  man  at  forty." 
This  man  bore  a  good  reputation.  The  next 
day  I  happened  to  pass  the  house  where  he  lived, 
just  as  he  came  out  of  the  gate ;  he  raised  his  hat 
politely,  and  made  a  remark  about  the  weather. 
At  that  moment  a  man  passed  by  on  the  other 
side  of  the  street,  who  looked  like  a  candidate 
for  a  morgue.  The  ghastly  white  skin  was 
drawn  tightly  over  the  high  cheek-bones,  and  his 
deeply  sunken  eyes  had  a  feverish  light  in  them 
which  was  very  unpleasant  to  look  at.  He  was 


JACKSONTILLE.  65 

very  thin,  and  walked  painfully,  like  one  weary 
and  longing  for  rest.  As  he  passed,  he  coughed 
a  low,  hollow  cough,  with  a  wheeze  on  the  end  of 
it  that  sounded  so  tomb-like  it  made  me  shudder. 
i  The  pilot  looked  sadly  after  him  as  he  passed, 
and  muttered,  " Poor  fellow!  poor  fellow! " 

"Do  you  know  him? "  I  asked. 

"Know  him?  I  guess  I  do,  poor  fellow;  it's 
awful  to  see  what  ambition  will  lead  a  man  to ! " 

"How?" 

:?  Why,  when  he  landed  here  three  years  ago, 
he  was  one  of  the  healthiest  consumptives  that  I 
ever  saw.  He  had  an  awful  cough,  and  he  used 
to  shake  the  house  so  where  he  boarded  that  the 
other  people  would  n't  stand  it,  so  he  used  to  go 
out  in  the  garden  and  take  his  morning  practice; 
but  although  it  was  an  improvement  on  the  house 
business,  it  raised  the  deuce  with  the  fruit  on  the 
trees.  Some  one  up  river  heard  of  him,  and 
offered  him  a  large  salary  if  he  would  come  up 
and  cough  in  his  orange  grove  during  gathering 
season. 

w  He  did  it,  and  the  experiment  was  an  immense 


66 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 


success.     He  could  clear  a  tree  in  three  coughs, 


a 

•  w  —    ^ 

Elfipfc 
and  sometimes  two  if  it  was  a  still  day.     He  got 

contracts  everywhere,  and  was  proud  as  a  peacock 


JACKSONVILLE. 


67 


of  his  coughing.  But  one  day  some  mean  fel- 
low put  up  a  job  on  him,  by  tying  a  lot  of 
oranges  on  a  tree,  and  then  hiring  him  to  cough 
them  off.  He  went  and  exploded  a  cough  that 
shook  the  tree  to  the  roots,  but  not  an  orange  fell. 
An  expres- 
sion of  sur- 
prise passed 
over  his  face 
as  '  he  fired 
another  and 
another  with- 
out success. 
Then  he  got 
mad,  and  tak- 
ing off  his 
coat  and  vest, 
opened  o  n 
that  tree  in 
earnest.  The 
way  he  raged 
and  coughed  and  wheezed  was  something  awful 
to  witness. 


7 


68 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


w  He  killed  the  tree,  but  not  an  orange  dropped. 
He  kept  it  up  till  he  swooned.  As  he  got 
warmed  up  to  his  work,  some  of  his  coughs 
knocked  him  off  his  feet  as  if  a  gun  had  kicked 
him.  He  lost  all  ambition  after  that,  and  spent 
all  his  money  in  drink.  Now  he  lives  along  by 
selling  his  body  to  the  doctors.  "Whenever  he 
gets  hard  up  he  goes  and  sells  himself  to  some 
new  doctor,  to  be  delivered  at  death;  but  if  he 
keeps  on  getting  thinner  and  thinner  the  way  he 
has  been  doing  lately,  there  won't  be  enough  of 
him  left  to  go  around,  poor  fellow." 

He  turned  his  face 
aside  to  conceal  a  tear 
which  slowly  trickled 
down  his  weather-beat- 
en cheek. 

I  said, "  Are  you  sure 
that  is  all  true  ?  " 

"True!  As  I  hope 
to  be  saved  in  the 
hereafter,  it  is  all  true  as  gospel.  I  saw  it  my- 
self." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PILOT    TOWN. 

PILOT  TOWN  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  John's  River,  and  may  be  reached  in  an 
hour  from  Jacksonville  in  any  of  the  little 
steamers  which  ply  up  and  down  the  river.  We 
had  gone  there  for  shooting;  and  so,  when  we 
had  stowed  ourselves  away  in  a  comfortable 
little  house,  we  unpacked  our  arsenal  and  spent 
the  afternoon  in  preparing  for  the  next  day's 
slaughter. 

From  the  stories  which  I  had  heard  concern- 
ing this  place,  I  had  some  idea  of  not  taking  a 
gun  at  all,  but  intended  to  cut  a  stick  and  walk 
about  clubbing  the  game  to  death.  I  gave  up 
this  idea  and  took  the  gun  along,  as  Jack  said  he 
was  going  to  take  his,  and  I  wanted  to  do  an 
equal  share  in  the  carnage  which  was  to  take 
place  the  next  day.  The  evening  was  warm,  and 


70  SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 

we  sat  out  on  the  piazza  smoking  our  cigars,  in 
the  quiet  enjoyment  of  their  narcotic  influence 
and  the  mosquitoes.  We  listened  for  the  croaks 
of  thousands  of  night  birds,  but  did  n't  hear  any. 
It  was  probably  not  late  enough.  After  a  while 
Jack  got  sleepy,  and  proposed  going  to  bed. 
Previous  to  retiring  we  looked  over  our  ammu- 
nition once  more.  I  filled  several  bags  with 
cartridges,  which  weighed  collectively  about  as 
much  as  a  mule  could  carry  with  any  comfort. 
Jack  did  the  same ;  and  added  all  he  could  stuff 
in  his  pockets  besides.  He  said  he  always 
believed  in  taking  enough  ammunition  in  a  game 
country.  All  being  arranged,  we  retired.  I 
listened  to  Jack  for  a  few  moments  as  he  moved 
around  in  the  next  room,  and  then  I  heard  him 
climb  into  bed ;  immediately  there  was  a  rattling 
sound,  followed  by  some  remarks. 

I  was  interested,  and  asked,  — 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"  Oh,  nothing,  only  the  slats  of  my  bed  have 
all  fallen  out." 

I  heard  him  get  up  and  arrange  them  carefully, 


PILOT   TOWN. 


71 


then  all  became  quiet.  He  had  climbed  into  his 
bed  so  carefully  that  I  had  not  heard  him.  I 
wanted  to  ask  if  he  had  fixed  things  all  right, 
but  heard  him  murmuring  softly  to  himself,  and 
did  not  wish  to  interrupt  his  devotions. 


Night  after  night  this  performance  was 
repeated,  and  as  regularly  he  said  his  prayers. 
Sometimes  during  the  night  Jack  became 
restless,  and  a  sudden  movement  in  his  sleep 
caused  a  general  discharge  of  slats;  then  com- 
menced a  groping  for  matches,  during  which 
operation  he  generally  knocked  over  half  the 
breakable  objects  in  the  room,  or  tied  his  toes  up 


7^5  SOUTHERN  RAMTBLES. 

• 

in  a  knot  on  the  corner  of  some  box;  all  the 
time  he  would  be  rehearsing  blank  verse  in  a 
foreign  language. 

I  am  glad  we  did  not  stay  there  long;  for  if 
we  had  I  think  Jack  would  have  soon  acquired  a 
vocabulary  which  would  have  made  a  pirate  turn 
pale  with  envy. 

The  next  morning  we   were  *wup  with  the 

lark";  and  after  an 
early  breakfast  we 
loaded  ourselves  with 
ammunition  and  guns, 
and  started  up  the 
road  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  woods. 
After  walking  for  an 
hour,  I  had  seen  and 
murdered  two  little 
birds.  I  had  heard 
Jack  shoot  once,  and 
judged  he  was  having 
as  exciting  sport  as  myself.  By  this  time  the 


*  I  have  seen  this  remark  somewhere  in  print. 


PILOT   TOWN.  73 

cartridges  weighed  a  ton,  and  I  sat  down  on  a 
smooth  stone  in  a  shady  spot  to  wait  for  game. 
I  did  not  wish  to  rest,  but  thought  that  perhaps 
the  noise  of  tramping  through  the  bushes  might 
frighten  away  the  game.  In  about  an  hour  I 
heard  something  coming  through  the  bushes, 
and  perceived  Jack  approaching,  carrying  a 
little  white  heron  under  his  arm,  which  I  after- 
wards learned  he  had  found  in  the  bushes,  un- 
able to  fly,  and  captured  it  alive. 

Observing  me,  he  made  a  short  cut  to  where  I 
was  seated,  and  lowering  his  head  to  pass  be- 
neath a  low  limb,  he  put  his  face  within  an  inch 
of  an  immense  spider,  which  was  evidently  wait- 
ing to  embrace  him. 

For  a  second  he  remained  stationary,  and  then 
fired  the  heron  into  the  sky  with  one  hand,  while 
he  dug  a  grave  with  his  gun  with  the  other. 
He  then  made  the  longest  jump  on  record. 
Upon  questioning  him  afterwards,  he  said  that 
he  was  not  at  all  nervous,  but  had  simply 
dropped  his  things  and  stepped  back  to  find 
something  to  catch  the  spider  with. 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 


STEPPED  BACK. 

After  digging  tip  Jack's  gun  we  started  for 
the  house,  and  upon  reaching  it  found  that 
dinner  would  be  ready  in  a  few  moments;  so 
piling  our  game  upon  the  porch,  together  with 
the  guns  and  ammunition,  we  wended  our  way  to 
our  respective  rooms  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a 
bath. 


PILOT   TOWN. 


75 


Some  weeks  afterwards  a  Northern  gentleman 
asked  Jack  about  the  shooting  at  Pilot  Town, 
and  he  said,  "Shooting?  Oh,  yes;  it  is  much 
better  there  than  about  Jacksonville."  I  noticed 
also  he  inquired  the  gentleman's  address,  but 
showed  no  desire  to  visit  that  city  on  our  return 
North. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 
UP  THE   ST.  JOHN'S. 

A  FEW  days  after  the  events  related  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  we  were  comfortably  settled  on 
board  of  a  fine  little  steamer,  bound  up  the  St. 
John's  River,  touching  now  and  then  at  some  of 
the  larger  orange  groves  which  line  its  banks, 
but  making  no  stop  until  we  arrived  at  Palatka. 

Palatka  boasts  of  a  good  hotel,  the  Larkin 
House.  It  is  one  of  the  best  in  Florida,  and  is 
improved  by  contrast  with  the  others  one  finds 
farther  up  the  river.  Jack  and  I  took  our  guns 
and  wandered  into  the  woods  for  a  little  sport, 
and  had  our  usual  success,  although  Jack  swore 
that  he  saw  a  bird.  The  next  morning  we  again 
boarded  the  steamer  and  continued  on  our  way 
up  the  rivBr.  From,  this  point  the  scenery  be- 
comes very  pretty,  and  the  river  is  so  narrow  that 
it  is  nearly  always  perfectly  calm.  A  short  time 


UP  THE    ST.   JOHN'S. 


77 


after  starting  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  famous 


[I 


V  I 
\>  ill! 

Oclawaha     River     (famous    for    its    alligators 
twenty  feet  long,  its  beautiful  scenery,  and  many 


78  SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 

other  lies  which  I  have  forgotten).  Here  the 
pilot  told  me  about  a  "  'gator  "  which  he  had  shot 
at  its  mouth;  but  he  had  been  up  all  night,  and 
was  tired  so  that  he  did  not  do  himself  justice. 
After  passing  Lake  George  the  river  narrowed 
still  more,  and  I  killed  my  first  alligator ;  later 
they  became  quite  common,  and  Jack  and  I  killed 
several,  the  largest  of  which  measured  about 
twelve  feet  in  length.  At  Georgetown  we  were 
told  that  deer  were  very  plenty,  tut  somehow  or 
other  we  did  not  want  any  deer,  and  so  kept  on 
our  way  up  the  river. 

It  was  night  when  we  arrived  at  Enterprise, 
having  travelled  about  two  hundred  and  eleven 
miles  up  the  St.  John's.  "We  stopped  at  the 
Brock  House,  and  liked  it  so  well  we  did  not 
change.  Jack  summed  up  the  whole  matter  a 
few  weeks  afterwards,  when  asked  by  a  gentle- 
man (who  was  going  to  Enterprise)  where  he 
would  advise  him  to  stop. 

r?"Well,  the  Brock  House  has  its  defects,  and 
many  things  about  it  might  be  improved ;  but  if 
I  were  you,  I  think  I  should  stop  there." 


UP  THE  ST.  JOHN'S.  79 

"What  other  hotels  are  there  in  the  place?" 

"Kone!" 

As  I  said  before,  we  stopped  there,  and  so  did 
a  number  of  other  people  who  enjoyed  the  air, 
the  butter,  and  the  high  prices  as  much  as  we  did; 
perhaps  more.  The  days  were  spent  in  hunting, 
and  we  found  the  shooting  very  good  about 
Enterprise.  Quail,  snipe,  deer,  and  alligators 
are  abundant  within  a  short  distance  of  the  hotel, 
and  one  may  get  very  good  sport  by  taking  the 
trouble  to  look  for  it.  Our  evenings  were  gener- 
ally passed  in  the  reading-room  in  the  society  of 
a  number  of  gentlemen,  who  were  there  for  the 
same  purpose  that  we  were.  The  evening  after 
our  arrival,  as  we  entered  the  room,  it  presented 
a  lively  appearance,  calculated  to  cheer  one  after 
a  hard  day's  tramp.  There  were  but  four  gentle- 
men in  the  room;  one  was  asleep  on  the  sofa, 
two  snoozed  in  their  chairs,  and  the  fourth  was 
doubled  up  in  the  corner  smoking  his  pipe. 
We  joined  in  the  general  hilarity,  and  after 
sitting  there  for  a  few  minutes,  our  voices  uncon- 
sciously sunk  to  a  half-whisper  as  if  in  a  church. 


80 


SOUTHERN   KAMBLES. 


The  gentleman  who  was  lying  on  the  sofa,  and 


who  appeared  restless  and  uneasy,  suddenly  rose 


UP  THE    ST.   JOHN'S.  81 

to  a  sitting  posture  and  relieved  himself  of  the 
following  speech :  — 

"Gentlemen:  This  sort  of  thing  is  played. 
Night  after  night  we  assemble  here  to  pass 
the  evening  together,  and  what  do  we  do?  We 
plank  ourselves  in  some  chair  and  toast  our 
shins,  and  amuse  ourselves  by  swapping  lies  and 
gambling  with  the  spittoon.  Now,  I  move  we 
have  a  game  of  poker."  The  motion  being  duly 
seconded,  it  was  put  to  a  vote,  and  carried  by  a 
large  majority. 

During  the  evening  Jack  kept 'losing  small 
amounts,  until  at  last  he  had  a  hand  which  suited 
him;  he  kept  on  betting  until  his  opponent  .called 
him.  He  showed  an  ace  full;  his  opponent 
showed  four  fours.  Jack  looked  the  hand  al~ 
over  carefully,  and  then  smiled  a  sickly  sort  of 
smile,  —  the  kind  of  smile  one  would  expect  to 
see  on  the  face  of  a  doctor,  who,  while  dissecting 
a  corpse,  had  it  rise  up  and  shake  its  fist  at  him. 
He  then  said  it  was  late,  and  he  "guessed  he 
would  go  to  bed." 

Neither  of  us  understood  the  game  very  well, 


82 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


so  after  one  or  two  evenings  at  it  we  gave  it  up. 
We  did  not  dislike  the  game ;  in  fact  we  found  it 
amusing,  very,  but  expensive. 


EVENING  AMUSEMENT. 


UP  THE  ST.  JOHN'S.  83 

The  next  day  we  received  an  invitation  to  wit- 
ness a  cock  fight  which  was  to  take  place  a  short 
distance  from  the  hotel.  Neither  of  us  had  ever 
seen  a  real  fight,  and  were  anxious  to  witness  an 
affair  of  that  kind ;  so  ^t  the  appointed  time  we 
started  for  the  ground,  in  company  with  several 
other  gentlemen  who  had  also  received  invita- 
tions. Arriving  at  the  appointed  spot,  we  strolled 
around  and  watched  the  operation  of  "  heeling  " 
the  birds.  The  natural  spurs  of  the  bird  are 
sawed  off,  leaving  a 
stump  on  which  to 
fasten  the  artificial 
weapon;  around  this  is  placed  a  strip  of  soft 
leather,  over  which  the  w  steel  "  is  pressed  on  and 
tightly  bound  to  the  leg  of  the  fowl. 

The  first  pan*  which  was  brought  out  were 
magnificent  birds  of  the  "  Spangle  "  breed.  Upon 
perceiving  each  other  their  eyes  flashed,  and  they 
seemed  to  quiver  all  over  with  rage.  Before 
being  released  they  were  allowed  to  peck  at  one 
another  for  a  few  minutes,  to  still  more  excite 
their  passions.  The  moment  they  were  placed 


84  SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 

upon  the  ground  they  rushed  at  each  other  with 
blind  fury,  striking  so  quickly  it  was  impossible 
to  follow  the  blows.  Almost  immediately  one 
of  the  birds  dropped  to  the  ground  limp  and  life- 
less, with  the  steel  spur  of  his  adversary  buried  * 
in  his  brain.  The  fight  lasted  only  eleven  sec- 
onds. The  victor  was  carried  away  and  carefully 
looked  after,  while  the  unfortunate  rooster  was 
thrown  to  one  side  to  make  room  for  the  next 
pair,  which  was  then  being  brought  up. 

These  were  even  handsomer  than  the  first  pair. 
One  was  a  large  red  of  beautiful  proportions; 
his  opponent  was  much  darker  in  color,  and 
somewhat  smaller. 

At  the  first  rush  the  black  was  knocked 
completely  off  his  feet  and  fell  over  on  his  back, 
but  was  up  again  almost  instantly,  striking  sav- 
agely. Again  and  again  the  black  was  knocked 
over,  but  always  managed  to  regain  his  feet 
before  the  red  could  strike  him.  After  one  of 
these  falls  we  noticed  that  the  red  walked  about 
in  a  dazed  sort  of  way.  His  breath  came  with 
a  gurgling  sound,  and  the  blood  began  to  drip 


UP  THE  ST.  JOHN'S.  85 

from  the  end  of  his  bill.  An  unlucky  stroke  had 
cut  his  throat,  and  it  was  now  only  a  matter  of 
time  as  to  which  would  win  the  fight;  his  own 
death  was  certain.  The  red  seemed  to  know 
this,  for  recovering  himself  he  rushed  savagely  ^ 
at  his  opponent,  and  for  a  moment  they  fought 
as  fiercely  as  at  the  commencement.  They  both 
fell  together,  and  upon  separating  the  black  did 
not  get  up.  However,  a  moment  afterwards  he 
struggled  to  his  feet,  and  we  perceived  that  his 
leg  was  broken  at  the  knee.  It  was  painful  to 
witness  the  efforts  of  the  brave  little  fellow  to 
stand  and  fight.  At  every  rush  he  was  knocked 
down  and  cut  badly;  still  he  tried  again  and 
again,  and  one  of  his  strokes  penetrated  deep 
into  his  opponent's  breast.  Again  they  closed, 
and  this  time  the  game  little  black  did  not  get 
up  again.  He  was  dying,  and  when  they 
lifted  him  up  he  was  dead.  The  red  stood  with 
drooping  head,  his  life-blood  slowly  dripping 
from  his  wounds ;  gradually  his  eyes  closed  and 
he  sunk  slowly  down,  down,  until  he  rested  upon 
his  side.  Once  he  tried  to  raise  his  head,  but  was 


86 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


apparently  too  weak;  and  with  a  gasp  almost 
human  in  its  agony,  his  muscles  relaxed,  and  he 
lay  at  full  length  upon  the  ground,  a  conqueror, 
yet  conquered. 

There  was  to  be  one  more  fight  before  dinner, 
and  the  gentleman  who  had  invited  us  said  that 
he  was  about  to  try  a  bird  which  he  knew  noth- 
ing about.  It  had  been  sent  to  him  by  a  friend, 
and  he  intended  to  match  him  against  one  of  his 
best  cocks.  In  a  few  minutes  the  birds  were 
brought  up  and  allowed  to  peck  at  each  other  as 


A  TERRIFIC  RUSH. 


usual,  to  excite  them.  Somehow  the  new  bird 
did  not  seem  as  ambitious  as  the  others  had  been 
to  be  released,  but  when  placed  on  the  ground 


ITP  THE  ST.  JOHN'S.  87 

he  struck  at  his  opponent  savagely.  As  luck 
would  have  it,  his  adversary's  spur  just  pricked 
his  neck  a  little.  The  moment  he  felt  the  touch, 
his  whole  appearance  changed.  His  next  rush 
was  terrific,  but  we  were  unable  to  learn  the  re- 
sult of  the  fight,  as  at  the  time  of  our  last  view 
of  them  as  they  vanished  over  the  top  of  a  small 
hill,  the  pursuing  bird  had  not  gained  sufficiently 
to  admit  of  commencing  operations. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

DEER     HUNTING. 

had  been  told  that  there  were  quantities 
of  deer  in  the  vicinity  of  Enterprise,  and  Jack 
wanted  to  kill  some ;  so  did  I.  The  result  was 
that  we  hired  a  negro  who  owned  a  family  of 
dogs  to  take  us  where  we  could  destroy  one. 
He  was  a  tall,  powerful  chap,  all  bone  and  mus- 
cle, and  for  a  wonder  we  found  him  willing  to 
work;  what  was  still  more  strange,  he  did  not 
promise  to  show  us  herds  of  deer  grazing  in  close 
proximity  to  dense  thickets.  He  said  he  would 
take  us  where  he  had  seen  deer,  and  where  he 
knew  deer  sometimes  went;  but  whether  we 
would  see  one  or  not,  he  could  not  say.  This 
saint's  name  was  "  Bunk."  "We  were  going  to 
an  island  which  was  situated  about  a  mile  down 
the  lake.  Some  of  the  dogs  did  not  want  to  get 
into  the  boat,  but  "  Bunk  "  petted  them  with  a 


DEER  HTXNTLtfG.  89 

club,   and  coaxed  them   aboard.     On  the  way 


BUNK. 


down  some  of  the  dogs  became  seasick,  and  were 


90 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


unhappy   and  miserable   until   we  reached  the 

!t/A,A  k  <N        <^P 
WM«%XA,   t?* 

PBKl^lWllllr^ifcJlffil 


island.    Upon  landing  we  made  the  boat  fast. 


DEER  HUNTING. 


91 


and  then   our   guide  led  the  way  through  the 

wood,  followed  by  his  drove  of  dogs.     He  said 

he  would  place  us  in  certain  spots  which  he  knew 

of  where  the   deer  usually   ran,   and  then   he 

intended  to  scour 

the  woods  with  his 

brood  of  curs,mak- 

ing  as  much  noise 

as  possible  to  drive 

the    deer    in    our 

direction. 

He  started,  and 
we  followed  him 
for  about  a  mile, 
in  silence  ;  then 
Jack  inquired  if 
the  "place  was  far." 
He  said  we  were 
?  'most  there  "  ; 
then  followed  fif- 
teen minutes  of 
hard  walking  over  rough  ground,  through 
tangled  vines  and  bushes,  until  at  last  we  arrived 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  saw  before  us  a 
long   stretch  of  level  prairie,  dotted  here  and 

there  with  clumps  of 
small  trees.  Under 
one  of  these  he  posted 
Jack,  and  Jack  was 
very  glad  to  be  post- 
ed. Then  followed 
another  tramp  of 
about  half  a  mile 
to  another  desirable 
spot  ;  at  last  we 
reached  it,  and  I 

I 

concealed  myself  in 
I  a  thick  growth  of 
'bushes  to  wait  for 
the  coming  deer. 

In  about  half  an 
hour  I  began  to  get 
restless ;  the  ants  had 
found  me,  and  had 
been  exploring  me  with  disgusting  familiarity.  A 
large  black  spider  had  been  hanging  over  me  for 


DEER  HUXTING.  93 

ten  minutes.  I  watched  him  closely,  but  some- 
thing called  my  attention  away  for  a  moment,  and 
when  I  looked  up  for  him  again  he  was  gone. 
Of  course  I  naturally  concluded  he  was  climbing 
about  over  me  for  exercise.  This  did  not  annoy 
me  at  all,  but  I  was  tired  of  staying  in  one  place 
and  wanted  exercise  myself,  so  I  took  it. 

Upon  reaching  the  place  where  I  had  left  Jack, 
I  found  that  he  had  also  grown  tired  of  staying 
in  one  place,  and  was  about  starting  out  to  hunt 
me  up.  While  we  were  conversing  upon  the 
advisability  of  going  in  search  of  "  Bunk,"  that 
worthy  appeared,  followed  by  his  faithful  hounds, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  odd  ones  which  had 
become  tired  and  gone  to  sleep  somewhere  on 
the  way.  He  had  seen  no  deer.  "We  were  both 
anxious  to  continue  the  hunt,  but  it  was  growing 
late,  and  we  thought  it  better  to  wait  until  the 
next  day,  so  we  went  back  to  the  boat.  Jack 
found  a  huge  hornets'  nest  attached  to  a  branch, 
which  he  cut  off,  nest  and  all,  to  carry  home  as  a 
trophy.  Somehow  Jack  always  had  a  liking  for 
hornets'  nests:  when  he  was  a  boy  he  was  .one 


94 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


day  presented  with  a  gun  by  a  kind  relation.    Of 


course  he  must  try  it,  and  the  first  thing  he  saw 


DEER  HUNTING-. 


95 


when  he  wandered  into  the  woods  was  a  huge 
hornets'  nest  suspended  from  a  branch  about 
seven  feet  from  the  ground;  he  took  good  aim  and 
fired,  hitting  the  nest,  and  also  tickling  one  of 
his  father's  horses  which  was  feeding  at  the  time 


just  under  it.  The  hornets  came  out  to  inquire 
into  the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  and  found  the 
horse  there  just  as  he  was  preparing  to  start  for 
the  next  State;  they  encouraged  him  hi  his  idea. 
Time  not  taken.  Jack  took  his  meals  standing 
for  a  week  after;  telling  the  joke  to  his  father, 
they  had  roared  over  it  together. 


CHAPTER    X. 

LIFE   AT   ENTERPRISE. 


THE  row  home  was  very  enjoyable:  I  steered. 
Jack  was  lazy  and  curled  himself  up  in  the  Bow 
of  the  boat  for  a  nap,  leaving  "  Bunk  "  and  I  to 
do  all  the  work.  The  sun  had  gone  down,  and 
the  soft,  indistinct,  foggy  appearance  of  objects 
at  a  short  distance  proclaimed  that  night  was  at 
hand.  The  full  moon  had  risen,  and  illumined 
the  shore  with  a  splendor  seldom  if  ever  seen  in 
the  North  5  it  was  fully  light  enough  to  read  by, — 


LIFE    AT   ENTERPRISE.  07 

if , one  had  anything  to  read,  and  the  type  was 


not    too    small.      As  we  moved   slowly  along 


98  SOUTHERN"  RAMBLES. 

within  a  short  distance  of  the  shore,  the  only 
sound  that  broke  the  perfect  stillness  was  the 
regular  movement  of  the  oars  in  the  row-locks, 
and  the  dripping  of  the  water  from  the  blades. 
I  was  impressed  by  the  grand  beauty  of  the 
scene,  and  began  to  muse  on  the  wonders  of  the 
universe  and  such  things.  The  perfect  silence 
appeared  to  affect  Jack  too,  for  he  suddenly 
lifted  up  his  voice  and  sung,  keeping  time  with 
the  movement  of  the  oars.  The  rich  bass  voice 
floated  out  over  the  lake,  like  the  subdued  bray- 
ing of  a  dying  jackass.  As  he  commenced  the 
second  verse,  a  venerable  dog  climbed  up  on  the 
seat  in  front  of  him  and  improvised  an  accom- 
paniment. When  he  got  to  the  chorus  all  the 
dogs  joined  in;  it  was  grand,  but  Jack  did  not 
appear  to  think  so,  for  he  stopped  singing,  —  so 
did  the  dogs. 

We  arrived  at  the  hotel  without  further  inci- 
dent, and  after  supper  were  well  laughed  at  for 
returning  empty-handed.  "We  had  forgotten  to 
prepare  a  lie,  and  so  had  no  excuses  to  offer,  but 
were  only  too  glad  to  go  to  bed  as  soon  as  we 


LITE   AT  ENTERPRISE.  99 

had  finished  our  cigars.  Here  let  me  say  that  in 
Florida  "  to  bed  "  and  "  to  sleep  "  are  not  synony- 
mous terms ;  "  mattresses  "  and  "  stock  farms  " 
may  be,  but  I  am  not  quite  positive  upon  that 
point,  as  my  recollection  fails  me. 

At  such  a  place  as  Enterprise,  one  has  a 
chance  of  seeing  many  curious  characters;  this 
category  includes  a  class  of  men  who  are  termed 
"crackers,"  a  name  originally  applied  to  the 
poorer  class  of  white  people  inhabiting  the 
southern  part  of  Florida.  One  evening,  while 
we  were  sitting  on  the  piazza  of  the  hotel,  a  tall, 
lean,  lanky  individual,  with  a  dilapidated  suit  of 
clothes  and  a  more  dilapidated  hat,  came  slowly 
up  the  steps  and  stood  looking  about  him  in  a 
dejected  sort  of  manner.  He  nodded  to  Jack, 
who  happened  to  be  nearest  to  him,  and  re- 
marked, — 

"Fine  weather." 

TYes,"  said   Jack,  "you  ought  to  make  the 
crops  pay  this  year." 

"  Don't  raise  any." 

a  farmer,  perhaps  ?  " 


100  SOUTHERN-   RAMBLES. 

*  Wall,  I  used  to  be,  but  I  can't  work  now. 
I  'm  sick  all  the  time." 

"What's  the  matter  with  you?  " 

*  Wall,  I  've  got  the  shakes  and  the  dyspepsy, 
and  I  can't  get  nothen  to  do  me  no  good." 

?  Why  don't  you  go  to  a  doctor?  " 

"  I  Ve  tried  lots  of  um ;  but  they  don't  none  of 
um  seem  to  do  me  no  good." 

Jack  glanced  over  his  shoulder  to  see  if  he  was 
observed,  and  then  leaning  forward,  said  in  an 
impressive  manner, — 

"  Do  you  see  that  tall,  gray-haired  old  gentle- 
man over  there?"  (pointing  to  a  group  of  new 
arrivals,  none  of  whom  he  had  ever  seen  before  in 
his  life.) 

"Which?" 

"  The  chap  with  the  spectacles." 

"Yes." 

:?  Well,   that  is   one   of  the   most   celebrated 

physicians  in  America :  he  could  cure  you  up  in  a 

jiffy  if  you  could   get  him  to  give   you   some 

1  medicine ;  but  he  is  a  gruif  old  duffer  and  don't 

want  to  be  bothered  about  his  business  while  on 


LIFE    AT   ENTERPRISE.  101 

a  vacation,  so  says  he  is  not  a  doctor.    You  will 


have  to  tease  him  a  little,  and  if  he  is  gruff  don't 
mind  him :  it 's  his  way." 


102  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

The  "  cracker  "  absorbed  all  Jack  had  to  say, 
and  after  letting  it  settle,  turned  around  and 
stared  fixedly  at  the  elderly  gentleman,  who  was 
seated  in  company  with  his  two  daughters  at  the 
end  of  the  piazza,  all  unconscious  of  what  was 
going  on. 

Jack  seized  the  occasion  to  wink  at  me.  Af- 
ter looking  steadily  for  a  moment,  the  w  cracker  " 
asked  in  a  dreamy  sort  of  way,  — 

"  Do  you  think  he  would  help  me,  if  I  asked 
him?  " 

"  Don't  know ;  you  might  try." 

Another  pause;  Jack's  face  as  calm  as  a 
tombstone. 

Then,  "I  guess  I'll  try  him,  anyhow";  and 
with  that  he  moved  slowly  off,  in  the  direction  of 
the  doctor. 

Jack  said  he  thought  a  change  of  climate  would 
suit  his  constitution,  so  he  went  into  the  reading- 
room.  I  did  not  like  being  alone,  so  I  went 
with  him.  In  the  reading-room  we  found  a 
number  of  gentlemen,  and  Jack  explained  the 
joke  to  them  in  a  whisper.  The  blinds  were 


LIFE   AT   ENTERPRISE. 


103 


closed,  but  the  windows  were  open,  and  we  could 
hear  all  that  was  going  on  outside  without  being 
seen  ourselves.  "We  crowded  around  the  window 
in  silence,  waiting  for  the  fun  to  commence. 


Presently  a  voice,  which  we  recognized  to  be 
that  of  our  new  acquaintance,  said,  — 
w  Say,  mister,  be  you  a  doctor?  " 
« I  am." 
Jack's  face  was  a  study,  but  he  recovered  him- 


104 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


self  and  ordered  the  necessary  stimulants.  That 
night  I  heard  him  moving  restlessly  in  his  bed,  as 
though  his  conscience  troubled  him,  —  perhaps 


THANKED  HIM. 

it  did.  The  best  of  the  thing  was  that  the 
"  cracker  "  on  meeting  him  the  next  day  thanked 
him  warmly,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  for  his  kind- 
ness. There  were  a  number  of  the  gentlemen 
i 

present,  and  Jack  did  not  seem  to  enjoy  it ;  we 
did! 

A  few  days  afterwards,  I  had  the  pleasure  of 


LLFE   AT   ENTERPRISE.  105 

witnessing   an   example    of  coolness    and  quick 
wit,  such  as  it  has  rarely  been  my  lot  to  see. 

A  party  of  gentlemen  were  practising  pistol 
shooting,  and  among  them  was  a  celebrated 
marksman,  who  had  been  doing  some  exceedingly 
brilliant  shooting.  While  the  practice  was 
going  on,  a  young  Englishman  had  been  lazily 
reclining  under  a  tree,  smoking  a  cigar.  After 
the  gentleman,  whom  we  will  call  Z,  had  made 
a  more  than  usually  fine  shot,  the  Englishman 
said  in  a  drawling  tone,  "  By  Jove,  not  so  bad." 
No  impertinence  was  intended,  and  the  drawling 
tone  was  perfectly  natural;  but  Z  took  offence 
at  the  remark,  and  said  sarcastically,  "  I  am  glad 
you  do  not  think  it  bad.  Will  you  be  kind 
enough  to  show  us  a  good  shot?  "  (handing  him 
the  pistol.)  w  I  will  hold  out  my  cigar  if  you 
will  oblige  me  by  shooting  the  ashes  off  of  it." 
The  Englishman  was  placed  in  a  position  where 
he  had  either  to  attempt  a  shot  which  he  knew 
he  could  not  make,  or  admit  that  he  was  inca- 
pable of  doing  it.  We  all  thought  him  caught ; 
but  no,  he  gravely  returned  the  pistol  and  said, 


106  SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 

in  a  slow,  drawling  manner,  w  My  dear  sir,  I  am 


a  stranger  here,  and  this  is  your  country,  you 


LIFE   AT   ENTERPRISE.  107 

know.  I  will  hold  the  cigar  and  you  make  the 
shot " ;  and  with  this  he  took  the  cigar  between 
his  fingers,  and  held  it  up  in  a  careless,  uncon- 
cerned way.  Z  accepted  the  pistol,  stepped  back 
a  few  rods  and  took  aim ;  there  was  a  flash,  a 
report,  and  the  ashes  flew  into  the  air  in  a  little 
white  cloud.  The  Englishman  glanced  at  his 
cigar,  smiled,  bowed,  and  replacing  it  between 
h'.s  lips,  walked  slowly  to  the  hotel. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE  STRANGER'S  STORY. 

THAT  evening,  while  Jack  and  I  were  con- 
versing with  a  tall,  fine-looking  man,  who  had 
arrived  by  the  boat  that  afternoon,  an  old  negro 
came  up  to  us  and  requested  a  contribution  in 
aid  of  a  church  about  to  be  established  some  ten 
miles  back  in  the  country.  Jack  asked  who  was 
to  be  the  minister. 

«Iis!" 

K  Do  you  feel  competent  to  fill  the  position?" 

?  Wall,  master,  I  is  going  to  try  and  dispense 
de  gospel,  and  wid  de  help  ob  de  Lord  I  is  goin' 
to  succeed." 

"We  gave  him  some  money,  and  as  he  moved 
away  I  observed  a  smile  on  the  face  of  our  new 
friend;  and  turning  to  me  he  said,  "That  last 
remark  has  recalled  to  my  mind  an  incident 
which  occurred  many  years  ago  while  I  was 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.  109 

travelling  in  California.     If  you  would  like  to 


hear  the  story,  I  should  be  most  happy  to  relate 


110  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

it."  We  signified  our  desire  to  do  so;  where- 
upon he  lighted  a  fresh  cigar,  leaned  back  in  his 
chair,  and  began  at  once. 

THE  STRANGER'S  STORY. 

I  was  a  miner  at  that  time,  and  while  out 
prospecting  among  the  mountains,  we  encamped 
one  evening  at  a  little  mining  village  known  by 
the  name  of  Salt  Gulch.  Upon  our  arrival  we 
were  informed  that  the  whole  camp  was  in 
mourning  on  account  of  the  death  of  w  the  par- 
son," who  had  died  that  same  afternoon.  He  had 
been  a  poor,  weak,  perhaps  incapable  young  man, 
who  had  suddenly  appeared  in  the  camp  some 
two  years  before.  The  rough  men  who  consti- 
tuted the  population  of  the  "  Gulch  "  had  liked 
him  from  the  first,  and  had  evidently  felt  a  pride 
in  having  a  minister  in  the  camp.  They  had  fed 
him  and  sheltered  him,  and  he  in  return  preached 
on  Sunday  to  those  who  would  come  to  the  little 
log-cabin  which  constituted  the  church  of  the 
camp.  He  often  watched  by  the  bedside  of  the 
sick,  tending  them  with  kindness  and  gentleness, 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.  Ill 

and  the  rough  miners  loved  him;  and  when  he 
died  followed  him  to  his  grave,  showing  real  sor- 
row, as  they  erected  a  rough  pine  cross  to  mark 
his  last  resting-place. 

That  night  it  was  decided  that  in  respect  to 
the  memory  of  the  departed,  the  church  should 
be  kept  up,  and  an  individual  known  as  "  Brandy 
Joe  "  was  unanimously  elected  to  fill  the  vacant 
position  of  "  parson." 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  after  breakfast, 
the  whole  camp  assembled  in  the  church,  in 
anxious  expectation  to  see  how  "  Joe  "  would  get 
on  in  his  new  position.  The  pulpit  consisted  of 
a  rough  pine  table,  placed  upon  a  small  platform 
raised  some  three  or  four  feet  from  the  ground. 
On  the  table  rested  a  Bible,  a  glass  of  water, 
and  a  mallet  such  as  are  used  by  auctioneers. 
As  soon  as  the  congregation  had  become  quiet, 
Joe  arose,  rapped  several  times,  to  command 
silence,  cleared  his  throat,  and  resting  his  hands 
upon  the  table  in.  front  of  him,  said,  — 

"  My  hearers !  You  all  know  that  this  is  a 
new  game  to  me.  I  have  looked  on  several  times 


112  SOUTHERN"   RAMBLES. 

while  it  was  a-goin'  on,  but  I  never  took  a  hand 


in  it  before.    Yer  see  it  was  kinder  rough  on 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.  113 

this  camp,  when  the  dear  departed  passed  in  his 
checks.  Seein'  as  how  there  wa'n't  another  of  his 
profesh  hangin'  around  in  these  parts,  some  one 
had  to  be  run  in  to  fill  the  vacancy:  I  was  the 
galoot  run  in,  and  all  I  can  say  is,  I  am  a-goin'  to 
try  and  play  the  game  straight  clear  through; 
and  I  don't  believe  as  this  camp  will  try  and  put 
up  a  job  on  me  the  first  deal.  Bern'  as  how  I 
never  expected  to  be  called  on  to  take  the  bank, 
and  not  bein'  up  in  the  game,  I  kinder  looked 
into  it  last  night;  and  I  struck  several  p'ints 
which  may  interest  the  crowd.  I  struck  one 
yarn  about  a  chap  named  Balaam.  It  seems  he 
was  goin'  on  a  visit  to  some  of  his  friends,  and 
was  a-joggin'  along,  ridin'  an  old  ass,  and  sorter 
takin'  it  easy,  when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  rose  up 
and  stood  in  his  way.  The  ass  saw  the  angel 
standin'  in  the  road  and  bolted;  but  Balaam 
belted  him  over  the  head  with  a  club  and  drove 
him  back  into  the  road.  And  it  came  to  pass 
that  the  angel  moved  on  down  the  road  and  laid 
for  'em  again;  and  when  the  ass  come  up  and 
saw  him,  he  jammed  Balaam  up  against  a  wall; 


114  SOUTHERN"  RAMBLES. 

and  Balaam  lifted  up  his  voice  and  swore,  and 


Wr?  ^/IA      %^^W/^ 

"WO  A  Jt* 

.  t .  ^K  a.  /  f          W^lff^  V  ? 


lammed   considerable   dust  out  of  the   animal's 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.  115 

hide  with  the  bludgeon.  Again  the  procession 
moved  on;  this  time  the  angel  put  up  a  job  on 
'em,  and  settled  down  in  a  part  of  the  road  which 
Was  so  narrer  they  could  n't  git  by.  When  the 
ass  saw  him  the  third  time,  and  found  he  had 
no  show,  he  threw  up  the  game  and  sat  down, 
slidin'  Balaam  off  in  the  mud.  Balaam  was 
awful  mad,  because,  you  see,  he  was  all  fixed, 
1 — ragged  out,  as  it  were;  he  just  riz  outer  that 
mud  and  whaled  the  ass  like  thunder.  Then  the 
Lord  opened  the  beast's  mouth,  and  she  said 
unto  Balaam,  — 

'"Why  dost  thou  whale  me?' 

"  And  Balaam  lifted  up  his  voice  and  said,  — 
r '  By  the  beard  of  my  daddy,  I  '11  whale  the 
immortal  stuffin'  out  of  yer,  if  you  cut  up  any 
more  shines  with  me ! ' 

Here  the  speaker  paused  for  an  instant,  and 
then  said,  "  I  don't  quite  feel  solid  as  to  what 
was  did  after  that;  but  he  didn't  have  no  more 
trouble,  and  got  to  where  he  was  goin'  all  serene." 

Further  speech  was  interrupted  by  a  burst  of 
applause ;  and  cries  of  w  Go  it,  Brandy  I  "  "  Bully 
for  Joe ! "  were  heard  upon  all  sides. 


116  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

When  quiet  was  at  length  restored,  Joe 
mopped  his  face  mechanically  with  a  large  red 
handkerchief  and  continued :  — 

w  I  want  to  tell  yer  another  story  about  a  chap 
named  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  was  high-cock-a- 
lorum  and  chief  boss  of  the  locality  in  which  he 
resided.  Ycr  see,  he  had  told  the  boys  that 
they  must  knuckle  under  and  look  pious  at  an 
image,  or  something  of  that  sort;  and  three  of 
the  boys,  named  Shadrach,  Meshac,  and  Abed- 
nego,  would  n't  do  it.  Their  friends  gave  'em 
dead  away,  and  Neb.  ordered  'em  to  be  brought 
before  him.  The  boys  tumbled  that  they  were 
in  for  it  when  they  heard  he  wanted  'em;  but 
they  were  game,  and  went.  "When  Nebuchad- 
nezzar saw  'em  he  said,  '  I  've  been  told  that 
you  three  chaps  won't  pray  to  that  lovely  little 
god  I  've  set  up  out  there  in  the  square.  Now 
let  me  tell  you  chaps  right  here,  that  I  rule  this 
roost;  and  if,  when  next  you  hear  the  sweet 
sounds  of  the  sackbut,  psaltery,  dulcimer,  and 
jewsharp,  you  don't  get  down  and  worship  that 
iffigy,  I'll  roast  yer.'  "What  did  the  boys  do? 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.  117 

Did  they  weaken,  and  say  they  would  tumble  to 
the  racket  in  future?  Not  much  they  didn't. 
They  called  a  meeting  right  there,  and  ap- 
pointed Shad,  a  committee  of  one  to  express 
their  opinions  ;  and  Shad  said,  *  O  sire,  you 
take  us  for  the  wrong  kind  of  a  set  of  angels. 
If  you  think  we  are  going  to  worship  that  scare- 
crow to  the  sound  of  slow  music,  we  beg  to 
tender  our  resignation.' 

:?  Then  the  king  was  as  mad  as  if  he  had  sat 
down  on  a  nail,  and  he  ordered  his  best  oven  to 
be  heated  seven  times  hotter  than  it  ever  had 
been  before,  and  that  Shad.,  Mesh.,  and  Ab. 
should  be  chucked  into  it.  Yer  see,  the  boys 
were  game,  but  the  old  man  was  too  much  for 
'em,  for  he  had  the  crowd  with  him;  and  they 
tied  'em  and  hove  'em  into  the  oven.  Then  the 
old  man  got  up,  and  his  eyes  stuck  out,  even 
like  unto  those  of  a  lobster,  and  the  folio  win  «• 
jawing  took  place:  — 

"Did  I  not  chuck  three  infidels  into  that 
oven?' 

"And  they  answered  unto  him,  saying,  <O 
king,  thou  hast  a  level  head!' 


118  SOUTHERN    KAMBLES. 

w  The  old  man,  though,  he  saw  four  men  walk- 


ing about  in  the  oven ;  and  knowing  he  had  only 
invested  in  three,  it  kinder  broke  him  all  up,  and 


THE  STRANGER'S  STORY.  119 

he  called  the  boys  out,  —  and  the  Good  Book 
says  f  they  come  out.' ' 

Joe/  paused,  wiped  his  face  with  the  handker- 
chief again,  and  then  continued,  "I  will  now 
pronounce  the  benediction ;  the  meeting  will  then 
adjourn,  and  I  invite  all  hands  to  take  a  drink." 

Bill  Davis  then  arose  and  proposed  three 
cheers  for  "  Brandy  Joe,  the  new  parson."  They 
were  given  with  a  will ;  the  benediction  was  then 
pronounced,  and  the  meeting  adjourned. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE     WILDERNESS. 

soon  tired  of  Enterprise,  and  yearned  to 
ascend  the  river  still  farther  and  explore  a  coun- 
try but  little  visited  by  tourists.  Both  of  us 
were  anxious  to  go;  and  when  two  people  are 
anxious  to  do  a  thing,  and  nothing  interferes, 
they  generally  do  it.  We  consulted  "  Bunk,"  and 
found  that  he  knew  the  country  well  enough  to 
act  as  our  guide.  By  the  next  morning  we 
were  ready  and  waiting  for  the  little  steamer 
:t-Wikiva,"  which  was  expected  to  arrive  some 
time  during  the  day.  It  is  hard  to  describe  the 
""Wikiva."  A  raft  with  a  smoke-stack,  a  cabin, 
and  an  old  mill-wheel  hitched  at  one  end,  would 
resemble  her,  and  go  about  as  fast.  She  has  to 
be  flat-bottomed,  as  the  river  in  some  places  is 
very  shallow  above  Lake  Harney;  and  as  the 
pilots  trust  in  Providence  in  their  steering,  a 
slow  boat  is  a  positive  luxury. 


THE   WILDERNESS. 


121 


At  noon  she  had  not  come  in  sight,  so  we 
rowed  up-river  to  get  a  little  shooting  until  she 
overtook  us.  "Bunk"  was  fresh,  and  rowed 
hard  until  I  cautioned  him  that  if  he  did  not  go 
slower  the  boat  would  never  overtake  us.  We 


then  went  ashore  and  camped.  About  midnight 
she  came  in  sight  around  a  point  a  few  hundred 
yards  down  the  river.  "We  then  commenced 
getting  our  things  together,  to  be  ready  to  board 
her  when  she  came  past.  The  puffing  and 
splashing  grew  louder  and  louder,  and  a  little 
after  one  o'clock  she  was  about  opposite  our 
camping-ground,  and  the  following  conversation 
ensued : — 
"Boat  ahoy!" 


122 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


"Hullo!" 

T  We  want  to  come  aboard." 

"  All  right,  come  ahead ;  there  ain't  any  place 
there  where  we  can  run  ashore  and  get  yer." 

"  All  right,  hold  on,  and  we  '11  come  out  to  you." 

A  few  strong  strokes  of  the  oars,  and  we 
were  alongside;  a  rope  was  thrown  to  us,  and 
"  Bunk  "  made  the  boat  fast  while  we  clambered 
over  the  side. 


THE  "WIKIVA." 


Upon  inquiring  for  a  state-room,  we  were 
informed  the  boat  only  contained  two,  and  they 
were  both  taken;  so  nothing  was  left  for  us  to 
do  but  to  sleep  in  the  engine-room.  The  room 


THE   WILDERNESS.  123 

was  small  and  close;  and  as  the  furnace  door 
was  open  about  all  the  time,  the  atmosphere 
was  somewhat  heated.  I  should  judge  that  I 
had  slept  for  about  half  an  hour,  when  I  was 
awakened  by  a  sensation  as  if  gradually  being 
roasted  alive.  I  called  "Bunk "  and  sent  him 
for  my  thermometer.  It  was  one  of  the  common 
kind,  and  did  not  register  over  220  degrees.  It 
burst  in  eleven  seconds. 

During  a  conversation  with  the  engineer,  I 
learned  that  he  had  acted  as  engineer  on  that 
boat  for  four  years ;  and  although  he  had  led  a 
wild  and  somewhat  wicked  life,  he  did  not  fear 
death.  I  believed  him. 

I  went  outside  to  get  some  air,  and  find  a  place 
to  lie  down  in  which  I  might  possibly  get  some 
sleep.  Hardly  had  I  got  outside  the  door,  before 
I  stumbled  over  a  bundle  of  blankets  lying  in  a 
heap,  which  some  negligent  person  had  left  lying 
on  the  deck.  Now,  I  am  sweet-tempered,  but 
anything  like  that  annoys  me ;  so  I  turned  around 
and  relieved  my  feelings  by  kicking  it  as  hard  as 
I  could.  Then  the  bundle  rose  up  and  was  going 
to  kick  me,  but  I  apologized. 


124: 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 


I  felt  better  then.  Nothing  makes  a  man 
feel  so  contented  as  to  think  over  an  event  of 
that  kind.  Imagine  the  feelings  of  a  person 


I   APOI.OOI7K. 


who  is  kicked  out  of  a  sound  sleep  by  a  stran- 
ger, and  then  to  have  the  stranger  apologize  in 
a  most  humble  manner,  so  that  he  can't  do  any- 
thing except  swear !  The  more  the  injured  party 


THE    WILDERNESS. 


125 


thinks  it  over,  the  madder  he  gets;  while  the 
offender,  as  he  muses  on  the  event,  experiences 
a  sense  of  tranquillity  stealing  over  his  senses, 
and  feels  at  peace  with  all  the  world. 

I  found  Jack  asleep  on  the  other  side  of  the 
boat,  and  woke  him  up  to  tell  him  about  my 
mistake;  but  he  was  ungrateful,  and  wanted  to 
know  why  I  could  n't  have  kept  it  until  morn- 
ing. Jack  is  peculiar  sometimes. 

In  about  an  hour  I  was  awakened  by  the 
sound  of  escaping  steam,  and  learned  that  the 
pilot  was  sleepy,  and  they  had  run  the  boat 
ashore  while  he  took  a 
nap.  Towards  morning 
we  started  again,  and 
arrived  at  Lake  Harney 
about  daylight.  Here  we 
left  the  steamboat,  and  f 
rowed  ashore  to  make 
a  camp  and  get  some 
breakfast.  While  "  Bunk "  was  at  work  pre- 
paring our  morning  repast,  Jack  and  I  took  our 
guns  and  started  off  to  see  what  we  could  find 


126 


SOUTHERN"  KAMBLES. 


in  the  shape  of  game,  and  in  a  short  time  pro- 
cured a  number  of  snipe,  which  we  found  quite 


abundant  in  the  vicinity  of  the  lake.  Upon  our 
return  to  camp  we  found  breakfast  all  ready  and 
waiting  for  us.  It  was  a  simple  repast,  consist- 


THE    WILDERNESS. 


127 


ing  of  pancakes,  hard-tack,  and  coffee ;  but  what 
it  lacked  in  variety,  it  made  tip  for  in  quantity. 
I  tried  the  pancakes,  but  did  not  like  them;  they 
were  too  rich.  Jack  did  not  seem  to  appreciate 
them  any  better  than  I  did,  so  we  made  our 
breakfast  of  hard-tack.  Breakfast  over,  we 
stowed  the  luggage  in  the  boat;  and  after 
getting  in  ourselves,  there  was  not  much  spare 
room  left.  "We  found  that  the  boat  was  loaded 
too  heavily  at  the  stern  to  row  easily ;  but  Jack 
soon  rectified  that  difficulty  by  throwing  over 
the  pancakes,  which  "Bunk"  had  carefully 
packed  away  for  future  use  as  ballast. 


CHAPTEK  XHI. 

DEEP    CHEEK. 

THERE  is  a  dreamy  sense  of  enjoyment  in 
floating  along  with  the  river  in  a  wild,  uninhab- 
ited region.  The  morning  dawns  slowly,  and 
the  smooth  water  presents  a  beautiful  appearance, 
seemingly  covered  by  a  mass  of  white  clouds, 
which  slowly  disappear  as  the  sun  rises  higher 
and  higher  in  the  heavens.  All  nature  is  fresh 
and  sweet  after  its  baptism  of  dew,  and  a  few 
remaining  drops  still  sparkle  on  the  leaves  as 
they  sway  and  rustle  in  the  morning  breeze. 
The  oars  are  at  rest  in  the  boat,  and  not  a  sound 
disturbs  the  silence  except  the  occasional  song 
of  some  wood  bird,  singing  merrily  as  it  sways 
upon  the  topmost  bough  of  an  overhanging  tree, 
or  chirping  softly  to  its  mate  concealed  in  the  thick 
undergrowth.  The  long  Spanish  moss  hangs  in 
graceful  festoons  from  the  trees,  and  adds  a 


DEEP  CEEEK.  129 

strange  beauty  to  the  scenery,  which  at  this  part 
of  the  river  is  often  picturesque  and  grand. 
Floating  along  in  this  manner,  stopping  now  and 
then  to  knock  over  a  few  snipe,  or  to  get  a  shot 
at  the  ducks,  which  abound  in  the  small  lagoons, 
we  at  last  reached  the  mouth  of  Deep  Creek 
and  made  our  camp  in  its  vicinity,  as  we  intended 
to  explore  it  the  next  day.  Our  bag  for  the  day 
had  been  very  good,  considering  that  we  had  not 
spent  a  great  deal  of  time  in  shooting.  It 
included  sixteen  ducks,  two  or  three  teal,  and  c, 
couple  of  dozen  snipe,  besides  a  lot  of  small 
birds,  which  Jack  classified  scientifically,  and 
nearly  gave  "  Bunk  "  the  lockjaw  when  he  tried 
to  name  them  after  him. 

The  mosquitoes  enjoyed  us  that  night,  and 
went  and  gave  their  friends  our  address,  so  that 
before  morning  a  large  congregation  had  assem- 
bled; and  it  was  only  by  using  quantities  of  oil 
of  tar  that  they  were  kept  at  a  respectful  dis- 
tance. "We  passed  a  most  uncomfortable  night, 
and  by  the  time  it  was  fairly  light  the  next 
morning,  we  were  in  our  boat  and  paddling 


130 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 


slowly  up  the  creek.  About  half  a  mile  from 
its  mouth  it  gradually  narrows  until  the  over- 
hanging trees  meet  at  the  top,  so  that  we  were 
entirely  protected  from  the  rays  of  the  sun. 


AN  UNCOMFORTABLE  NIGHT. 

Upon  rounding  a  bend,  the  sound  of  a  heavy 
splash  ahead  of  us  would  reveal  the  presence  of 
some  large  alligator,  which  had  been  lying  asleep 
on  the  bank,  but  whose  acute  senses  had  detected 
our  presence  before  we  had  reached  a  point  where 
he  could  be  seen.  Quantities  of  little  alligators 
were  to  be  seen  along  the  banks,  and  stared 


DEEP   CREEK.  131 

stupidly  at  us  as  we  passed,  but  the  larger  ones 
were  very  shy  and  difficult  to  obtain  a  shot  at. 

While  lazily  enjoying  the  constantly  chan- 
ging scene,  Jack  suddenly  raised  his  hand,  and 
pointed  at  the  same  time,  making  a  gesture  to 
signify  that  we  were  to  keep  quiet.  Following 
the  direction  of  his  gaze,  I  saw  two  huge  wood 
ibises  standing  upon  a  dead  branch  about  forty 
yards  distant.  They  had  evidently  seen  us,  and 
were  just  in  the  act  of  leaving  their  perch  when 
the  report  of  our  guns  awoke  the  echoes  of  the 
forest,  and  they  both  came  to  the  ground.  Little 
did  we  dream  of  the  amount  of  life  which  was 
lying  concealed  in  that  apparently  deserted 
spot.  At  the  sound  of  our  guns,  two  large 
flocks  of  white  ibises  started  hurriedly  from 
their  concealment,  and  circled  shrieking  over  our 
heads;  from  the  woods  upon  our  left  came  the 
harsh  cries  of  paroquets;  and  a  heavy  crashing 
in  the  bushes  just  ahead  of  us  told  of  the  pres- 
ence of  some  large  animal  whose  meditations 
we  had  suddenly  disturbed.  For  the  next  few 
minutes,  things  were  lively  in  that  creek;  but 


132  SOUTHER]^  RAMBLES. 

then  a  sudden  silence  fell  on  the  scene,  and  had 


DEEP  CREEK. 


DEEP    CREEK.  133 

it  not  been  for  the  dead  bodies  of  the  birds  float- 


GOT  HIM. 

ing  in  the  water,  we  might  have  thought  the 


134  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

whole  thing  to  have  been  a  dream.  One  huge 
wood  ibis  was  making  off  among  the  bushes, 
and  Jack  jumped  ashore  and  started  to  catch 
him.  They  both  disappeared  among  the  bushes, 
but  I  heard  them  splashing  about  in  the  water 
of  a  small  marsh,  which  was  concealed  from  our 
view  by  the  undergrowth.  A  few  more  splashes? 
and  then  a  cheery  voice  shouted,  "All  right; 
I  Ve  got  him ! "  Another  splash  or  two,  and 
then,  "  No,  d — n  it ;  he 's  got  me !  " 

The  sounds  of  a  struggle  were  borne  faintly 
to  my  ears,  accompanied  by  exclamations  of  a 
character  which  showed  that  somebody  was  ex- 
cited; and  a  moment  after,  that  somebody  ap- 
peared upon  the  scene,  in  the  shape  of  Jack, 
holding  the  poor  ibis  in  one  hand  and  an  enor- 
mous club  in  the  other. 

The  next  night  we  camped  near  Thorn  Hill 
Creek,  where  we  found  a  grove  of  sweet-lemon 
trees,  the  fruit  of  which  makes  a  very  pleasant 
drink.  At  this  point  there  is  a  small  shanty,  in 
which  we  had  intended  to  stop  for  the  night;  but 
Upon  our  arrival  we  found  it  already  occupied  by 


DEEP   CHEEK. 


135 


a  negro  and  a  white  man.  The  latter  was  lying 
upon  a  bed  of  blankets  in  a  high  fever.  He  was 
delirious  most  of  the  time,  and  during  the  night 
we  were  entertained  by  bursts  of  wild  laughter 
and  snatches  of  old  songs.  We  passed  a  most 


uncomfortable  night,  but  a  little  episode  oc- 
curred towards  morning  which  cheered  us  up 
somewhat.  w  Bunk  "  got  bitten  by  a  scorpion. 

In  the  morning  we  held  a  consultation,  and 
decided  that  we  had  had  enough  shooting  for 
the  present.  Game  was  plenty,  but  we  had  no 


136 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 


use  for  it,  and  it  would  be  wicked  to  destroy  life 
merely  for  the  sake  of  destroying  life.  Neither 
wished  to  go  back  to  Enterprise,  but  we  both 
agreed  that  we  had  better  go  in  that  direction. 
In  the  evening  we  arrived  at  the  hotel. 


A  few  days  later  we  were  again  on  the  river, 
this  time  going  north.  The  trip  down  does 
not  differ  materially  from  the  trip  up,  except  that 
the  steamer  goes  a  little  faster  on  account  of 
the  current ;  and  by  keeping  a  tree  on  shore  in 
line  with  some  object  on  the  boat,  a  passenger 
may  easily  tell  which  way  he  is  going. 


DEEP    CREEK.  137 

"We  stopped  at  Palatka  over  night,  and  aston- 
ished our  systems  with  a  good,  substantial  meal. 
There  was  a  weighing  machine  in  the  office,  and 
Jack  and  I  both  weighed  ourselves.  Jack  ate 
heartily  that  night,  and  his  appetite  seemed  to 
have  improved  the  next  morning.  Just  before 
leaving  I  asked  him  to  weigh  himself  over 
again.  He  did  so:  he  had  gained  nine  pounds. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ST.   AUGUSTINE. 


A  SHORT  sail  brought  us  to  Tocoi,  where  we 
found  a  train  in  waiting  to  convey  us  to   St. 


ST.   AUGUSTINE.  139 

Augustine.  During  the  ride  Jack  read  from  his 
book,  and  howled  information  to  me  across  the  car 
about  the  places  which  were  worth  seeing  in  St. 
Augustine.  The  road  was  rough  in  some  places, 
and  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  raise  his  voice  to 
enable  me  to  hear  him.  He  was  in  the  middle 
of  a  flowery  description  when  we  crossed  a 
bridge ;  the  noise  was  deafening,  but  Jack  never 
missed  a  word,  and  was  yelling  like  a  maniac, 
when  the  train  suddenly  ran  on  to  a  smoother 
part  of  the  road.  An  old  gentleman  seated  near 
the  door  arose,  looked  around  hastily,  and  then 
went  into  a  forward  car. 

^Nothing  unusual  occurred  during  the  ride,  and 
we  arrived  at  St.  Augustine  when  the  tram  did. 
"We  had  been  advised  to  go  to  the  St.  Augustine 
Hotel,  so  we  went  there.  There  are  many  things 
about  a  St.  Augustine  hotel  which  might  be 
improved;  but  then  the  place  is  old,  very  old. 
Jack  always  spoke  of  it  afterwards  as  a  wd — d 
old  town." 

The  hotel  contained  a  billiard-room  and  sev- 
eral first-class  tables.  Jack  and  I  tried  a  game; 


140 


SOUTHERIST  RAMBLES. 


but  being  somewhat  tired   with   travelling,  we 
could   not   drive   the   balls  hard  enough  against 
the  cushions  to  make  them  rebound,  so  we  gave 
,it  up  and  went  to  bed. 


"We  visited  the  cathedral:  it  is  worth  seeing, 
—  everybody  says  it  is.  It  has  an  overwhelming 
interest  to  the  traveller,  for  some  reason  which  I 
have  forgotten ;  but  I  am  glad  I  saw  it,  for  now 
when  I  hear  any  one  talking  about  the  beauty 
of  the  St.  Augustine  Cathedral,  I  pity  him  in 
silence.  Speaking  of  cathedrals  brings  to  mind 


ST.   AUGUSTINE.  141 

an  incident  which  occurred  in  Paris  some  years 
ago.  We  had  been  repeatedly  advised  to  go  to 
the  Magdalene  and  hear  the  morning  service. 
A  party  of  four  of  us  decided  to  go;  but  we 
started  late,  and  when  we  entered  the  church  the 
services  had  already  commenced.  I  was  struck 
by  the  solemn  silence  of  the  place;  but  my  medi- 
tations were  interrupted  by  an  old  chap  seated 
near  the  door,  who  stuck  out  a  badly  worn  paint- 
brush as  we  passed.  He  had  on  a  little  black 
velvet  cap  to  keep  him  from  catching  cold.  We 
avoided  him  and  sat  down.  I  observed  that  sev- 
eral other  people  who  came  in  after  us  were 
treated  in  the  same  way,  but  they  were  all  sold 
by  the  old  duifer,  for  they  stuck  their  fingers  in 
the  brush,  and  then  put  them  to  their  noses ;  but 
they  did  not  seem  to  like  the  perfume,  for  they 
all  wiped  them  afterwards  in  a  careless  manner 
upon  their  clothes,  with  a  sort  of  a  criss-cross 

motion.  G asked  a  grave-looking  man  next  to 

him  if  it  was  perfume,  and  was  told  that  it  was 

"  a  perfume  for  the  soul."     G looked  at  him 

severely,  and  then  relapsed  into  silence;  but  he 


142 


SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 


told  me  in  confidence  afterwards,  that  if  he  had 
not  wished  to  avoid  disturbing  the  congregation, 
he  would  have  w  reached  for  that  party  and 
mopped  the  floor  with  him." 


"We  watched  the  proceedings  for  some  time, 
and  tried  to  look  pious  and  sanctified;  but  it 
was  not  very  entertaining, — there  was  a  sameness 
about  it  which  became  tiresome  after  a  time. 

Between  the  acts  a  tall  man  in  a  gorgeous 
uniform,  carrying  in  his  hand  a  large  cane  with 


ST.   AUGUSTEsT;. 


143 


a  silver  ball  for  a  head,  passed  in  and  out  among 
the  people,  followed  by  a  short,  fat  party,  who 
carried  a  sort  of  fancy  cap  in  his  hand.  I 
noticed  that  the  people  put  money  into  the  cap 
when  it  was  held  out  to  them.  There  was  a 


musty  smell  about  the  place,  which  we  were  told 
was  caused  by  burning  incense.  I  had  heard  of 
incense,  and  was  glad  that  I  had  smelt  it,  for 
otherwise  I  might  have  bought  some  some  time, 
and  then  I  should  have  been  sold.  We  sat 
quietly  for  about  half  an  hour,  and  I  was  just 


144  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

beginning  to  feel  the  beautiful  solemnity  of  the 
place  stealing  over  my  senses,  making  me  feel 

sleepy,  when  G broke  the  illusion  by  asking, 

w  Have  n't  you  had  about  enough  of  this  ?  "  "We 
filed  out,  again  avoiding  the  paint-brush.  The 
boys  were  very  quiet,  and  seemed  to  be  thinking 
of  something;  perhaps  meditating  on  their  past 
sins  and  resolving  to  do  better.  I  hoped  it  was 
so,  but  had  grave  doubts,  and  did  not  like  to 
venture  any  remarks  on  the  subject. 

The  day  we  visited  the  St.  Augustine  Cathe- 
dral there  was  no  service  in  progress,  but  I  sat 
down  on  one  of  the  benches  and  imagined  I  was 
again  enjoying  the  grand  services  of  the  old 
cathedrals ;  the  illusion  was  perfect  when  I  fell 
asleep. 

We  visited  Fort  Marion,  —  every  one  goes 
there.  Jack  read  me  a  description  of  it  on  the 
way,  from  a  gaudy  pamphlet  which  he  had  that 
morning  added  to  his  collection.  It  ran  as 
follows:  — 

*  The  old  fort  here  is  the  chief  glory  of  St. 
Augustine.  For  three  centuries  the  coquina 


ST.  AUGUSTINE. 


145 


walls  of  Fort  Marion  —  the  modern  name  of 
'  San  Marco  '  —  have  looked  down  upon  the 
bay  and  the  dis- 
tant  open  sea, 
the  town  and 
its  fading  gen- 
'erations.  Now 
the  late  ten- 
ants —  the  In- 
dian prisoners  —  are  gone,  it  seems  more  dreary 
and  sad  than  ever.  Passing  the  portcullis,  we 
enter  the  great  court-yard,  surrounded  by  case- 
ments, in  one  or  two  of  which  are  stacks  of  old 
cannon;  to  the  right  is  a  sloping  way  leading 

to  the  broad  pathway 
above,  where  we  look 
down  into  the  moat  and 
water  battery  with  its 
heavy  guns. 

"At  the  corners  are 
queer     little     martello 
towers,  —  sentry  boxes 
with  loop-holes, —  and  at  the  far  end  a  larger 


146 


SOUTHERN  RAMBLES. 


tower  surmounted  by  a  ladder.  Below  stairs 
they  show  one  the  dungeon,  with  its  ghostly 
legends  of  imprisoned  unfortunates  left  to  die." 

We  saw  the  fort,  and  took  a  look  at  the  dun- 
geons; but  we  restrained  our  enthusiasm,  and 
were  calm  and  self-possessed  during  our  con- 
versation with  the  dirty  soldier  who  showed  us 
about. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  places  which  we  vis- 
ited was  the  lighthouse  on  Anastasia  Island,  which 
is  in  plain  view  from  the  hotel.  The  lighthouse 

is  painted  in  alternate 
black  and  white  stripes, 
resembling  a  barber's 
pole,  from  a  distance. 
The  keeper  is  a  deter- 
mined fellow;  and  the 
beach  is  lined  with  the 
bones  of  men  who  have 
gone  over  there  to  get 
shaved. 

"We  had  been  in  St.  Augustine  about  a  week 
when  Jack  began  to  get  restless.  He  wanted  to 


ST.   AUGUSTINE. 


147 


go  to  Nassau.  He  had  found  out  that  a  steamer 
was  to  leave  for  New  Providence  the  following 
week,  and  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  go ;  what 
was  more,  he  wanted  me  to  go  with  him.  When 
we  sat  down  to  breakfast  he  talked  of  Nassau ; 
during  our  morning  walks  he  talked  of  Nassau ; 
at  dinner,  he  dwelt  upon  the  tropical  climate,  and 
the  splendid  fruits  to  be  found  there.  In  the 
evening  he  produced  his  book,  and  filled  the  air 


A  NATIVE. 

with  ravings  about  Nassau.  At  last  he  read 
a  paragraph  that  settled  it.  It  was  the  follow- 
ing:— 

"If  there  is  any  such  thing  as  an  earthly 
sensuous  paradise,  I  should  think  it  might  be 
found  under  a  banyan-tree  in  the  delicious  mid- 


148  SOUTHERN   RAMBLES. 

winter  climate  of  Nassau.  This  leafy  paradise 
should  be  enjoyed  in  a  hammock  swung  from 
the  banyan's  branches.  You  can  get  a  very 
good  manila  hammock  for  fifty  cents.  A  deli- 
cious cigar,  such  as  is  found  here,  will  help  to 
intensify  the  tropical  felicity.  If  that  don't  do  it, 
the  Cannabis  Indica  grows  within  sight,  from 
which  is  derived  the  famous  hasheesh,  which  is 
the  king  of  all  narcotics  in  weaving  a  dreamy 
spell  about  its  votaries." 

Now,  I  wanted  to  see  a  place  where  I  could 
sit  under  a  banyan-tree  and  look  at  a  "  Cannabis 
Indica,"  and  I  wanted  some  "  hasheesh."  I  did 
not  know  what  w  hasheesh  "  was,  but  I  wanted 
some  anyway ;  so  when  the  hour  arrived  to  go 
on  board  the  "  Secret,"  Jack  and  I  were  among 
the  passengers. 

For  some  time  after  getting  under  way  the 
vessel  followed  the  coast ;  but  in  the  evening  she 
turned  about  and  steered  boldly  eastward.  It 
was  a  lovely  moonlight  night,  and  Jack  and  I 
were  on  deck  watching  the  slowly  retreating 
land.  Gradually  it  faded  from  our  view  until  we 


ST.   AUGUSTINE.  149 

rolled  upon  an  unbroken  sea  of  white-capped 
waves  lit  up  by  myriads  of  animalculse,  seeming 
on  fire  as  they  dashed  against  the  side  of  the 
vessel. 


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